Sins Of The Fathers: The Ioniajin Saga
by Melora Maxwell
Summary: The Saiyajin and the changeling races have been unwilling allies and even greater enemies. Now Vegeta's past has caught up with him, along with a being long thought dead...
1. Part 1

**Sins of the Fathers-Part One**

Far beyond the reaches of the solar system, past the lonely orbit of Pluto, two battle-scarred pods flew through the vacuum of space. In the previous thirty years, many of these fighter-class ships had travelled on a course through the system of planets, all sharing the same final destination.

Chikyuu. Earth.

Only fitting that the last remnants of the Saiya-jin race would call such a strange planet home. Or perhaps that was just Frieza talking. Seventeen years dead and yet he still lived on so vividly. She painfully cracked open her eyes as the suspended animation unit disengaged and the hum of the interior lighting took its place. The view outside was that of the starscape, one of the few comforts she had left in her life.

The neighbouring pod was hailing her. Tapping the comm button, she tried to settle more comfortably into the padded interior with little success as her partner hailed her. 

'…Ten minutes to land. Engage final touchdown preparations.'

'Acknowledged.' Securing her landing harness, she prepared herself for atmospheric entry, a painful process at the best of times. With an open side wound and a malfunctioning critical support system…The comm system remained open. They both knew they wouldn't receive a warm welcome once they arrived, not if the last landing was anything to go by. There was still a chance however that the Saiya-jin had mellowed with the years of peace.

'…You're kidding yourself if you think they'll greet us with open arms.' The rasp of pain in his voice was obvious. '…We haven't been welcomed nearly anywhere else with intelligent life.'

'The name of Frieza still holds a great deal of fear in this quadrant of the galaxy.'

'…So does the name of the Saiya-jin.' She could tell he wasn't enjoying the reminders of his past.

'Touché.' Outside, the blue sphere of Chikyuu shone in the light of its sun, growing ever larger by the second. The outside of the pods began to glow red, then white-hot as they blazed through the atmosphere.

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Many earthlings considered the highlands of Yunzanbit uninhabitable. Even Piccolo thought this place was desolate. A perfect place for training and meditation. The years of peace after the awakening of Majin Buu had relaxed many of the others; only Kakarott had remained strong enough to spar with him. At present, he enjoyed the solitude, although he kept his senses attuned to sensing the ki of his…friends? After so many years, it was still difficult to accept anyone as being his equal, bar the obvious.

Responsibilities. It sounded like a cheap word even now. Twenty years ago, he would have thought nothing of blowing this entire planet to hell and back, just as Vegeta-sei had been obliterated. But now, a son. And recently, a daughter. The one he called his mate, a human. One whom he had detested so much when they had first met, but now it was hard to imagine life without Bulma. In a way, she was a fighter, but always with her mind, never her fists. Sparks of contempt often flew, even after years of marriage, but he knew now that the day he would finally lose her would be the day he would lose part of himself.

His offspring. Both so like their mother, the human side always present. Weak and vulnerable. But the Saiya-jin side…

He had seen it in Mirai Trunks, always stubborn, questioning the authority of the prince of all Saiya-jin, but merely trying to protect the father he had never known. It rang true for his son from this time, but in a different way. Never losing those he loved had never marred him in the way his future self had been. Maybe he was even a better fighter for it.

The most recent addition to his life, Bra. His little princess, Bulma and Trunks using the name only half jokingly. Somehow, that little blue-haired girl had captivated him ever since she was born. Three years old, and she had an incredible amount of ki. She still hadn't used the power yet, but it was apparent she could be one of the most powerful females on this paltry planet.

A movement of ki distracted him from his thoughts. Moving from the north, it was closing in on his location. Inclining his head, Vegeta stood up and closed his eyes, placing the ki signals. The stationary ones first. To the south, the offspring of Kuririn along with her damnable _jizouningen_ mother. The shrimp Chao-tzu, and the old man Kame-Sen'nin were with them. To the east, the human weakling Yamucha, probably with that idiotic cat. In the west, Bulma and Bra remained at Capsule Corps, Kakarott's wife and granddaughter with them.

The ones moving…Kakarott and his sons, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, the Namek, and Trunks. Clearly they had sensed what he had known for some time. Two weakening kis on a direct course for Earth. One seemed vaguely familiar to him, the other…this would not be easy. Flaring his own ki slightly, he rose into the air to intercept the other fighters, falling into formation alongside Kakarott.

Goku wasn't the smartest of people; he had never had much in the way of schooling bar his martial arts training, he retained a certain naivety that some enemies had turned against him, but even he could tell Vegeta was disturbed by the signals. Instead of his usual scowl painted on his features, his face wore an expression of ambiguity, and if anything, he looked almost reluctant to join them. It was like…he'd been expecting this to happen, but at the same time, he believed it wouldn't happen. 

Dropping altitude, the Super Saiya-jin of Chikyuu flew alongside Vegeta as the group sped through the Yunzanbit wastelands.

'You know who it is?'

No answer.

'You think they're Saiya-jin?'

A small scowl appeared.

'You think they're not Saiya-jin?'

The scowl remained stationary.

'So you think it's both?'

A dark glare lanced his way from the prince's direction.

'One Saiya-jin, one non Saiya-jin?'

'Would you shut it with your baka questions Kakarott!?'

Goku grinned and moved back into position, leading the group towards the landing spot. 'Vegeta thinks there's one who might be Saiya-jin and one who's definitely not. Kuririn, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, keep your power suppressed as much as you can; Gohan, Goten and Trunks, don't go SSJ unless we tell you to, 'kay?'

A chorus of affirmation was echoed by the three demi-Saiyajin, Namek and human, and quickly got whipped away by the wind as they landed on the rough terrain. This was the same place where over twenty years ago, Earth's Special Forces had faced off against Vegeta and Nappa. Ironic that now they would fight two more aliens, friendly or otherwise.

The sharp smell of ozone hit their noses as the winds dropped and the sound of the pods' engines filled the air. The impact of the landing flung clouds of volcanic dust into the air as the pods crashed into the hard ground causing impact craters nearly a kilometre wide and nearly twice as deep. The kis had flared slightly with the crash, but now they dropped, even weaker than before. The clouds began to clear as the wind rose, muffling the whine of the pod hatches as they swung open. All of them crouched into fighting stances as the clouds disappeared.

No one appeared.

Dropping out of his fighting stance, Goku floated over to the pods, a ball of ki palmed in his fist if needed. A movement inside one of the compact ships caused him to step back and raise his fists, slowly lowering them as he took in the state of the fighter inside. Kind-hearted and naïve as always, he reached inside and helped the inhabitant of the pod to emerge. His gasp was clearly heard as he pulled the young fighter out into the open. 

Four ugly slashes tore across the face, bleeding profusely. Another gash on the forearm opened slightly with the movement of the body beside it, spilling red-black blood over the rocks underfoot. Bruises of various colours and sizes mottled the skin over the legs. But the most obvious wound was the on in the side, barely 6 inches away from the heart and so deep, the ribcage was clearly visible. What had caused the look of shock on Goku's face though was also apparent.

The fighter was a female, not much older than Trunks. From the furry brown tail wrapped round her waist, she was also clearly a Saiya-jin.

Vaguely aware of someone supporting her weight, the girl looked up at the face above her. She recognised it immediately. Turning her head round, she gazed painfully at the assembled throng, settling her eyes on one person.

'Vegeta…' It was her only word before she passed out.

Uncharacteristically, Vegeta moved to help the girl as she collapsed onto the ground. Few females had ever served in the Planet Trade, but those who did wore an adaptation of the white armour and black spandex uniform meant for the males. The armour remained essentially the same, merely altered around the chest and waist, and without the plates covering the thighs and groin. The spandex underneath was cut into a skirt, slit to mid thigh on both sides for ease of movement. The gloves and boots were considerably longer in length, the boots ending around mid-thigh, while the gloves ended around the elbows.

Even after eighteen years he still recognised her. Black hair and dark brown eyes set off her face, already so like Apri it amazed him. 

'Kitara…'

'Dad? You know her?' Trunks looked completely baffled as to his father's reaction. He looked even more confused as Vegeta raced past him to the girl's side, kneeling down and picking her up in his arms like a child. She didn't respond to the contact. Ignoring the scene for the time being, the lavender-haired demi-Saiyajin joined Goten, who was examining the inhabitant of the other pod.

'It's totally out cold.' He warily reached in and shook the body of the inhabitant. Getting no response, he started trying to pull the body out of the ship.

'What d'you mean, '_it_'?' Gohan joined them, looking over Trunks' shoulder and getting a good look at the new fighter. His eyes widened in horror and recognition at the sight. White armour covered its entire body; cobalt-blue crests embedded in its forearms, shins, chest and forehead. A thin line of violet coloured blood trickled from an indention near its right ear, while several deep gashes and bruises covered its torso. The thick tail looked like it had been lanced by something painfully sharp; here and there were holes that ran straight through the bones, clean pierced in one case.

'Get away from that thing now. I mean it.'

His younger brother and his best friend looked at him in confusion. At least until they were dragged away bodily by Piccolo and Tenshinhan, who had also seen the fighter.

The Namekian's scowl deepened. 'A changeling. Damn, they just keep coming.'

From the other pod, Goku, Kuririn and Vegeta looked up at the sound of the name. Three names now raced through their heads. _Frieza, Koola, Cold…_ Praying to Kami that it would remain out cold for a while, the two Saiya-jin and human warriors crossed over to the other crater, Vegeta still cradling the body of Kitara in his arms.

'Uh, dad? What's with the freaky silence? And what's a changeling, anyway?' Goten was completely baffled. The thing looked pretty harmless, and beaten to hell and back, not to put too fine a point on it. What was the big deal?

'It's one of Frieza's people. The one I fought on Namek when I became a Super Saiya-jin for the first time. But most of his race are long gone; Koola and King Cold died nearly twenty years ago.' Goku's expression grew harsh. 'Apparently some did survive.'

'We could kill it now pretty easily. It's unconscious; no resistance, right?' Kuririn sounded almost hopeful. Unsurprising, since he had met his death at Frieza's hands. He'd never returned the favour, either. Still, it was never too late to correct an old mistake…He placed his hands by his side and started to power up.

'No.'

All eyes turned to Vegeta in complete disbelief. The kamehameha wave Kuririn had prepared flared, then died as he dropped his hands. Tenshinhan and Piccolo looked aghast. The Son males wore identical expressions of bafflement, and even Trunks looked askance at the sanity of his father's decision.

'The changeling will not be killed.'

Gohan was the first to speak out. 'Vegeta, a little detail you might have missed; that thing is a _changeling_. _Frieza_ was a _changeling_. And unless you forgot, he killed you and Kuririn…'

'My memory is working fine, thank you.'

He hadn't finished. '…And you want to keep it alive?! Does anyone else think this is insane?'

The prince of the Saiya-jin looked down at the unconscious body in his arms. 'We keep it alive _until_ we find out what the hell it's doing here. _Then_ you can kill it any way you want. But not before then, CLEAR?'

'I still think it's a bad idea.' Gohan didn't have the energy to deal with Vegeta once he'd made a decision. Tenshinhan and Kuririn looked at each other, then took off into the air. Piccolo, Goku and Gohan followed suit. Goten and Trunks shrugged and picked up the changeling between them, flying next to Vegeta as he held the female's body close to him.

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'That's a changeling?' Bulma peered into the first regeneration tank installed in the Capsule Corps medical unit. She had guessed there would be an arrival on Earth since her husband and son had taken off so fast, but she had never expected a changeling, especially not in this condition. 'Eewww. Weird.'

'This coming from someone who said Frieza was cute.' Yamucha pushed in beside her to get a better look at the floating body in the tank, slowly healing in the synthetic DNA surrounding it. 

'You're not gonna stop reminding me of that any time soon, are you?' She tapped at the controls, satisfied that the changeling was healing fine before moving across to the other tank and shoving her husband out of the way. Vegeta hadn't moved away from the female since she had been isolated in the tank over half an hour ago. It concerned her to say the least. The girl was a Saiya-jin, but she couldn't be any older than Trunks, twenty at most. To have sustained those injuries and survive…The odd thing was; Vegeta appeared to know the girl. He called her Kitara, his mother's name. It meant he either knew her parents or she was connected to the Saiya-jin royal family in some way.

Putting the thoughts out of her head for the moment, she ran a brief diagnostic on the girl's injuries. The slashes and her side wound were steadily knitting together, while the bruises were starting to fade. She would be out of the tank within fifteen minutes at the most.

'I still don't get it.' Goku peered into Kitara's tank, then looked over towards the changeling. 'Why would a Saiya-jin possibly be travelling with a changeling? And how come she's so young? I thought most of our race died out, but she doesn't look like she survived the destruction of Vegeta-sei.'

'She didn't.' Vegeta broke from his vigil beside the tank.

'How do you know her anyway Dad? Was she a friend of yours or something?' Trunks was still staring in fascination at the changeling. Having only ever heard stories of Frieza and Koola from his father and Goku, he was eager to learn more about them firsthand.

'You'll find out soon enough, brat. Now stop asking me any more idiotic questions.'

'I still don't see why we're helping the changeling.' Gohan remained adamant on this topic. 'It's got enough power to destroy this entire planet. Look at what Frieza did to Namek; he would have done the same to Earth without any remorse. Keeping it alive is dangerous.'

A loud beep distracted them from the discussion. The fluid drained out from the tank as Kitara started to stir. The Z fighters looked at one another and opted to leave until she was fully conscious.

The feeling of being watched was the first thing the young Saiya-jin recognised, the slight nausea from being in a regen-tank being the next. Cautiously opening her eyes, she took in her surroundings in a sweep of her head. She was in some kind of lab, still inside the regen-tank. Outside the glass dome, she made out several shapes, one of which was manipulating the control panel on the tank. The dome hissed open and she shakily stepped out of the machine, the cool air hitting her skin and making her shiver.

The one who opened the tank wrapped something round her shoulders, warming her body slightly. She looked up into the face of a female, short green hair falling to her shoulders. A pair of blue eyes gazed warmly back at her, her lips forming a smile. 'You're lucky to be alive. We managed to heal you and the changeling we found in the other pod. It should be waking up soon as well.'

'Thank you, um…'

'My name's Bulma. You're Kitara, right?'

She looked confused. 'Who told you that?'

'Goku said it was your name…'

'Goku? As in Son Goku!?' Kitara suddenly looked shocked. 'The legendary Super Saiya-jin?'

'That's Goku. He and the others are quite keen to see you, provided that's ok with you.'

'Y-yeah, no problem!' She looked over towards the door as Bulma ushered a group of people into the lab. Nine in total, she recognised three as being human, though one had three eyes. A little unusual, but then again, the Bas-jin had four eyes, so it didn't faze her. The tallest of them was Namekian, dressed in a cape and turban. The others she was unsure of, but they appeared to be either human or Saiya-jin.

Bulma led the introductions. 'Tall Green and Moody over there is known as Piccolo, the resident Namek. The short one's called Kuririn, the three-eyed guy is Tenshinhan and the one with the scars is Yamucha; they're all human.' She gestured towards the remaining fighters. 'This is Son Goku, the two black-haired ones next to him are his sons, Gohan and Goten. They're both half-Saiya-jin, half-human.' As normal, Goku offered a cheery little wave and a grin as a gesture of goodwill. 'Nice to meet you.'

The human woman pointed out the next in line. 'This one is called Trunks; he's my son and half-Saiya-jin as well. Last up is…'

'Vegeta.' Kitara stared at him unwaveringly. Vegeta was completely oblivious to this, mainly because he was staring straight back at her. Bulma trailed off as she looked from one to the other.

Neither of them moved nor spoke for a few seconds. Finally Vegeta broke the silence. 'It…it is you…I wasn't mistaken?'

She shook her head. 'No…it's me.' Her eyes shimmered slightly with tears. 'This…isn't some kind of dream o-or something?…'

'No…I'm here.' He offered her a crooked smile, one which none of the others had ever seen before. He held his arms out to her. 'Kitara…'

She stopped fighting back and let the tears fall as she ran headlong into his arms. 'Vegeta…TOUSAAN!!!' 

Simultaneously, nine jaws hit the floor as she sobbed in Vegeta's arms.

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	2. Part 2

**Sins of the Fathers-Part Two**

'Let me get this straight; you had a Saiya-jin daughter by another woman while you were out in space looking for Goku after the fight on Namek and you never even _told _us?! You never even thought of telling Bra and me that we had an older half-_sister_?!' Trunks' lavender hair was standing on end due to the number of times he had run his hands through it in sheer frustration. By comparison, his father appeared to be completely unruffled, although inside he was still deeply shaken after Kitara's reappearance.

'He does have a point Vegeta. We all deserved to know there was another full-blood Saiya-jin still alive, especially if she's related to you.' Goku, to put it mildly, was flaming. It didn't help his conscience that he felt a certain sense of responsibility for the present situation. /If I had just come back to Earth when Porunga had searched for me, Vegeta would never have gone looking for me and this whole thing would never have happened./ Kitara, Gohan and Bulma had remained in the medical lab to monitor the changeling's healing process, the human woman accepting the arrival of another Saiya-jin with barely a shrug. It appeared that she had already guessed this would happen someday. Goku, Goten, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Yamucha, Kuririn and Trunks had taken their 'discussion' with Vegeta to the rec. room near the lab in the hope of receiving an explanation.

The Saiya-jin prince's scowl had returned along with his natural hatred of talking. The glare he turned on his son would have made any other person run screaming from the room. Trunks, however, wasn't a normal person. He simply returned the look in kind, enhanced by a snarl of anger. 'So why didn't you tell us?'

'I have my own reasons for my silence on this matter, baka.'

Trunks raised his eyes heavenward. The impatience and irritation was starting to bite. He spoke with more sarcasm and anger than he normally enjoyed. 'The reasons _being_?

Vegeta's increasingly agitated façade broke down into uncharacteristic rage and grief almost instantly. 'Because I thought she was dead! Now are you satisfied?!'

A stunned silence fell over the room as he sat down heavily at the small table and rested his face in his hands. 'Because I thought she was dead.'

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It felt warm, the fluid surrounding him. The screaming pain in his skull and tail had lessened considerably, and his muscles no longer ached with every movement. He could sense something…no, someone, watching him. Cautiously opening his eyes formerly sealed in blood, the changeling studied his surroundings. The interior of an isolation chamber, the synthetic DNA surrounding him fading from blue to light violet as it cleansed and healed his wounds. Outside the dome, he could make out the shapes of three people, two of whom were strangers. The Saiya-jin female standing barely a foot away from the chamber however, he recognised instantly. The battered armour and spandex had disappeared; she was now dressed in a pair of baggy black training pants and a white sweatshirt just slightly too large on her small frame. He didn't recognise the words printed on it, but it hardly mattered.

The breathing mask over his face was marring his lip movements, but his eyes still told her what he could not say. Kitara pressed her hand over the plate glass in front of her, never once breaking eye contact with the chamber's occupant. Bulma watched in amazement as the changeling's heartbeat started to slow down, his initial panic fading as he recognised the girl before him. Satisfied that the readings were stable, she moved to stand behind the young woman, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder, expecting her to move away.

She flinched slightly at the contact. Her defensiveness showed that she was expecting, even resigned to a verbal attack from her father's new mate. 'Please, don't hate me Bulma. And please don't hate my father.'

Even though they fought constantly, routinely insulted each other and disagreed over nearly everything in the known universe, she and Vegeta had always been close. Despite his insistence that she would never understand what it was to be a Saiya-jin, he had told her of his race's legends and customs, including a few small details of his life before he arrived on Earth. Bulma had always known that he had taken a Saiya-jin mate while he was in Frieza's personal guard, but had been highly reluctant to tell her of why they were no longer together. It didn't bother her that there had been someone else in his life before her; she just wished she had known that he had fathered another child. Still, Kitara was Vegeta's daughter, they had clearly been close despite their long separation, and that was good enough for her.

She turned the girl around to face her. 'I don't hate you; I'd never hate you. You're Vegeta's child just as much as Trunks is, and that makes you my daughter as well.'

Kitara sighed and gazed up at her, sadness clouding her dark brown eyes. 'Trunks doesn't seem to like me much.'

'He's just shocked.' Gohan spoke up from the lab bench where he was repairing her armour. 'If you found out your father had taken a mate before he met your mother and had fathered another child, you'd be shocked too. Vegeta never told any of us he'd had a mate before Bulma, much less another daughter.'

She looked over at him in confusion, then turned back to Bulma, an expression identical to Vegeta's frown covering her face. '_Another_ daughter?'

'Yes. Bra's my youngest. She's about three years old now.' She smiled gently at her, a small hint of amusement creeping into her voice. 'At least I now know why Vegeta's so good about looking after her.'

'So…I have a baby half-sister?' She looked thrilled at the realisation.

Bulma nodded. There was something about her she couldn't help but like. 'You can meet her later. I'm pretty sure she'll want to meet her big sister.' A loud beep distracted them from the conversation, the three of them turning towards the isolation tank. The changeling was healed.

Having spent most of her life in and out of the tanks had given Kitara an excellent knowledge of how they worked. Tapping at the control panel, she drained the synthetic fluid away from the tank and watched as the breathing mask was removed from her partner's face, his body starting to reanimate. Opening the chamber, she reached an arm in to steady the changeling as he crawled out of the tank.

The expression on the changeling's face completely baffled both Gohan and Bulma. Far from looking disgusted, it actually appeared to be pleased at the contact, mixed with a look of relief that Kitara was fine as well. The expression rapidly transformed into a frown upon closer examination of its surroundings.

'No-one ever informed us that Chikyuu was this technologically advanced. Isolation tanks…' He caught sight of several modified scouters sitting next to the said tanks. '…Scouters…where are we?' Something rose out of Gohan's memories. The voice had an unusual inflection…

'Relax, we're on Earth, and we're in a place called Capsule Corps.' She gestured to the writing on the front of her shirt, and then to Bulma. 'This is Bulma; she's the one who designed the regen tanks.' Satisfied that he could stand unaided, she let go of his arm, but remained unusually close to him. 'Rei, there's…there's something else as well. Vegeta…he's here as well.'

His expression was unreadable. 'Does he know?'

'I think I took ten years off his life when he realised it was me. Other than that, nothing else.'

Gohan interrupted at this point. 'Rei? Weird name.'

'It's short for Reizoku. Only Kitara is permitted to call me Rei.' He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly at the young warrior's appearance. Spiked hair, powerful muscle density…'You're a Saiya-jin as well, right?'

The demi-Saiya-jin sneered, his memories of Frieza flooding his brain. 'Got a problem with it, _changeling_?'

Reizoku backed up slightly, unsure as to what he had done wrong. 'Uh…no.'

Unfortunately Gohan had inherited more from his father than simply his Saiya-jin blood. Appetite, strength, the love of battle…all of them had come from Goku…along with the same goofy expression of total confusion. Which he was brilliantly demonstrating right now. 'Huh?'

'I said I don't have a problem with you being a Saiya-jin. Why should I?' His expression darkened into a scowl. 'Or maybe I _should_ have a problem with it. Maybe I _should_ possess the same genocidal tendencies as Frieza. Would _that_ make you happier?'

'It'd give me an even better excuse to kill you.'

'Just try me!'

'Gladly!' The young hybrid immediately raised his hands above his head, forming a Masenko blast while the changeling lowered his hands to his sides, gathering ki for his own attack.

'Gohan! Reizoku! Would you both grow up!' Bulma stepped in between the two fighters before they attempted to annihilate each other. Scowling in irritation, she shoved Gohan backwards, his Masenko dissolving into the air while Kitara pulled on Reizoku's arm, forcing him to power down.

'You got lucky this time. But just don't ever cross me, changeling.' With that, he stormed out of the lab, the Saiya-jin girl letting out a breath she barely been aware of holding in. 'So, it's the traditional warm welcome then?'

'Apparently so.' Reizoku stared out into the hall after Gohan's retreating back, a resigned expression marring his face.

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Vegeta stared at his fists, clenched on the table before him. 'After Kakarott refused to return to Chikyuu, I travelled out into space in the hopes of finding him and learning how to become a Super Saiya-jin. The most obvious areas to search were the surrounding systems around Namek. After a week of continuous travel, I reached the planet Ryusha, one of the smaller, insignificant worlds in the Planet Trade.' 

'There were two reasons I had for landing there; to refuel the ship, and to find any information as to Kakarott's whereabouts. Instead I found someone else…Frieza was unaware that more than four Saiya-jin had survived the explosion of Vegeta-sei. Those infants sent out at the same time as Kakarott had also survived the blast, but out of all of them, only three survived. Brolli was one of them, Kakarott the next…and one other. Apri was a first-class female in the Saiya-jin elite, although she never joined the Planet Trade. We were together for over 6 years before Nappa and I travelled to Earth. Back then, Frieza was never aware of her existence.'

'We resumed our relationship where we had left it; nothing had changed between us. She learned about the fight on Namek; both from me and the few Planet Trade contacts she could trust. For a while, she travelled with me in my search, helping more than I had thought possible. Then…' He kept staring at his fists, although only Goku and Trunks were able to detect the barely noticeable slump of his shoulders. 'Then she discovered she was with child, my child. I couldn't risk anything happening to either of them, so at the first Trade port we arrived at, I made her leave, with strict orders to contact me once the child was born.'

'Six months later, I received a transmission from the planet Kinassa; Apri had given me a daughter, a first-class fighter like her. I was…proud to say the least. Abandoning my search temporarily, I returned to her and the child. She had been named Kitara after my mother. I stayed with them for a few months until the search called again. I told her that once I had found Kakarott and had learned how to transform into a Super Saiya-jin, I would return to her permanently.'

Trunks' self-control was wavering badly. 'But you told me the Saiya-jin mate for life! You abandoned her for Mom?'

Uncharacteristically, Vegeta didn't snap back with a retort. He refused to give in to his grief. Instead, he merely stared up at his son, whose expression changed from rage to bewilderment as he registered his father's silence.

'That was 18 years ago. The last time I ever held Kitara in my arms was the last time I ever saw Apri alive.'

Goku and Kuririn immediately felt a pang of understanding and grief for the Saiya-jin prince. Both of them were fathers; they knew how protective Vegeta was of his children, even if he chose not show it much. As for their wives…Chichi and Juuhachigou meant the world to them. But only Goku could understand what it felt like to lose the mother of his sons. Losing Chichi to Majin Buu had almost destroyed him. But at least she had been revived by the Dragonballs. Apri had been dead for over 18 years; Shenlong had no jurisdiction over the dead if they had been in the afterlife for more than a year.

Oddly enough, Yamucha spoke up from his place near the door. He felt a strange connection between himself and the Saiya-jin prince, even though he still resented the fact that Bulma had rejected him for Vegeta. 'How…how did she die?'

Vegeta looked back down at his fists. 'It was a year and a half later that I discovered she had died at the hand of Frieza. The first thing he did after being rebuilt by his scientists was finding Apri, then destroying her personally. Ripped her heart out through her chest and then crushed it in his hands.' All of them winced at the images thrown up by the blunt description. 'I had believed Kitara had been destroyed along with her mother. Once again, my family had died due to my inability to protect them against Frieza. After that…I didn't care much about anything.' He sighed. 'It was partially that fact which triggered my transformation into a Super Saiya-jin. After that, I returned to Earth.'

Trunks and Goten were staring at him wide-eyed. Yamucha and Tenshinhan were more reserved, but their eyes still belied their shock. Piccolo remained stone-faced and impassive as always, while Goku and Kuririn had abandoned all pretence at control and were both fighting the urge to go into the medical lab and blast the changeling straight to hell and back.

All of them looked up as Gohan quietly entered the rec. room. Clearly, he had heard enough to piece together what had happened. He stopped in the doorway, looking uneasy, but choosing to continue.

'The changeling's healed. Thought you'd want to know.'

Piccolo moved away from the wall he had been leaning against, flexing his muscles under his weighted cape. The smirk on his face, pointed fangs gleaming in the light, had made grown men cower like babies back when he'd been Piccolo Daimao, and even now, most of the Z fighters backed away from him in apprehension.

'Time for the Demon King to play hardball.'


	3. Part 3

**Sins of the Fathers Part Three**

His current situation didn't leave much room for profound thought, but he was at least grateful that he and Kitara hadn't been annihilated as soon as they had landed. However the Namek and the other Saiya-jin had only waited until he was healed before attacking him. Airborne and dodging a barrage of ki blasts, Reizoku back-flipped; a blast singeing his newly healed tail. The howl of pain was clearly audible even through the multitude of attacks.

Keeping a close eye on her partner's progress, Kitara hovered about 50ft above the domed roof of Capsule Corps, Goten and Trunks beside her.

'Can't either of you talk to them? Rei's not going to hurt anybody.'

Goten shrugged blandly. He knew better than to interrupt his father, Gohan, Piccolo and Vegeta once they got going. Admittedly it had been Piccolo who had initiated the fight, but he was hardly going to point that out to three irate Saiya-jin and a pissed off Namek. 'You might know that and so do we, but try telling that to Dad and Vegeta.'

Only a member of the royal family of Vegeta-sei could have produced the glare she shot at him. Trunks looked up in the air and shook his head. Fast as he was, the changeling wouldn't last much longer against this strength of an attack. 'Dad's pretty single-minded once it comes to the changelings. If he even sees one, it's pretty much 'clank clank, you're dead'.'

'Oooohhhh, remind me to throttle you later…little brother.' The Saiya-jin female propelled herself into the battle area, trying to reach Reizoku before her father's Final Flash Attack could. Weaving through the assorted blasts, she thanked the gods that she had grown stronger from so many severe injuries. The extra speed made her course easier, but only marginally less lethal. Reaching her target, she turned round to face the assault, spreading her arms wide and generating a ki shield around herself and Reizoku. The attacks lessened, then halted as Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Piccolo realised what she was doing.

'Since you're taking a small break from trying to obliterate us, would you please just listen to me?!' Floating down to stand on the dome roof of the Corps building, Reizoku took advantage of the interval in the battle to allow his ki to drop to its normal level. Staring up at the Z Seishi, his shoulders slumped and his face took on an almost pleading expression, one not lost on the warriors.

'I'm not here to kill anyone; I don't want to kill anyone.'

'Why should we believe you. Any dealings we've had with your race resulted with us nearly being destroyed!' Vegeta demonstrated his typical lack of listening to reason and threw a small blast at him. Countering, the changeling flung the ball of energy to one side, letting it explode harmlessly on the ground.

'If I'd wanted to kill you, wouldn't I have done so the moment I was healed?'

Kitara floated down beside him, glaring at her father and the others. 'More to the point, would I have let him live if I knew he was going to be a threat?' She didn't move whatsoever from her position beside him.

'Uh, dad? She does have a point. If it did want to kill us, it would've already started.' It took a lot of willpower not to balk at Vegeta's expression, but Trunks held his ground. He hadn't sensed any malevolence emanating from the changeling and Kitara appeared to trust it…

'Stay out of this, brat.'

'Vegeta…' Trying to calm the prince, Goku restrained him, placing a hand on his shoulder and receiving a filthy look for his efforts. He persevered.' He's right and you know it. Besides, it hasn't retaliated in the slightest; maybe it can be trusted.'

Snarling in frustration, the Saiya-jin prince backed down, though his ki level remained high. He glared at the white figure and spat bitterly on the ground. 'You got lucky…changeling. You won't die until I know what the hell you're doing here.'

Reizoku returned the glare in kind. 'Call me something other than 'changeling' and I might tell you.'

Vegeta's expression turned murderous. 'And what pathetic _changeling_ name do you call yourself by?'

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Trying to avoid Vegeta's fists as he struggled against their hold, the Son males, Trunks and Piccolo all shared an exasperated look. Kitara and Reizoku weren't faring any better. The Saiya-jin female was trying to help Kuririn, Yamucha and Tenshinhan create a living blockade around her father, while Reizoku was airborne once again, dodging ki blasts.

'In the history of bad introductions, that rated somewhere around the top three!' Kitara ducked to avoid a blast and glared up at the changeling. 'Why the hell did you go and say that?'

Reizoku deflected a mid-air blast and returned the glare. 'Because I thought he didn't know about me! With a family like mine, you try to remain innocuous.'

'Pardon me?! Look at the shit I've gone through, and that's just because I'm a Saiya-jin princess! Saying you're the prince of the changelings generally pisses people off!'

'I'm just saying it would've been nice not to be associated with Papa for once, 'kay?' A blast impacted heavily on his shoulder and he screamed in pain as he fell out of the sky. Breaking free of the full nelson Piccolo was holding him in, Vegeta tore down to the ground, his rage causing him to power up to SSJ 1. Grabbing hold of the regent by his neck, Vegeta's grip tightened and his voice rose to a harsh bellow.

'I may not have had the pleasure of killing Frieza, but insuring the destruction of his offspring is a challenge I will gladly accept!' Reizoku's tail hung nearly a foot from the ground as he struggled against Vegeta's grip, and fighting to stay conscious against a rapidly diminishing supply of air. Despite the fact that the changelings could survive in the vacuum of space, even they couldn't last long with a block on their circulatory system. Abruptly, the ground came up to meet him as he landed unceremoniously in a heap. Looking up and massaging his bruised shoulder and neck, he saw Kitara standing in front of him in full fighting stance. Vegeta was staring dazedly at her, his rage returning fast as a gigantic welt appeared on his cheek. Evidently Kitara had kicked him, the shock making the Saiya-jin loosen his grip enough for him to break free.

Kitara met her father's glare head on as his rage grew. Breaking out of her stance, she crouched in front of Reizoku, using her body as a shield against any attacks. 'If you kill Rei, you'll kill me first.'

'Move.' Vegeta's order was as cold as his expression.

'No.'

'Get out of the way now! That thing needs to be destroyed!'

'Tough crap. You kill him, you'll come through me first.'

'My own daughter…protecting a changeling…' He looked completely disgusted as he raised a hand to strike her.

'Ok, Ok, time out you guys.' Goku formed his hands into a T shape. Stepping in between the two Saiya-jin, he scratched his head and frowned slightly at the body sprawled on the ground. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was almost disappointed not being able to sense any malice emanating from the changeling, but for the most part, he was shocked by the discovery. Frieza had been a father…That meant he had once had a mate as well. If she or Reizoku turned out to be anything like the destroyer of the Saiya-jin… 'Call me nuts, but I never thought Frieza was the paternal type. I'm not calling you a liar…' He quickly capitulated as Reizoku shot a reproachful look at him. '…But how come none of us except Vegeta knew about you, your Highness?'

The changeling blanched at the title he detested so much. 'Just Reizoku is fine. I don't enjoy being referred to as a prince.'

'You didn't seem to mind referring to your title when you introduced yourself.' Kuririn folded his arms and frowned down at him.

'I only did that to piss him off.' Reizoku jerked his head at the seething Vegeta.

'You little…' His ki flared dramatically.

'Dad…' Trunks chorused the word along with Kitara.

Piccolo nodded slightly at the changeling. 'Go on.' Reizoku sighed heavily, then began.

TBC


	4. Part 4

**Sins of the Fathers Part 4**

'I don't remember Papa too well. He died when I was a baby, so most of the things I know about him, I learnt from my mother.' Perched on a boulder with Kitara beside him, daring Vegeta to take another shot at him, Reizoku exhaled and winced at the dull ache in his shoulder as he recounted the past two decades of hell.

'Papa couldn't tell anyone he had a mate, much less a son, so he had to hide us away. He told Mom it was so that we couldn't be used as bribery during business deals; the head of the Planet Trade couldn't be seen to have a family. He never said as much, but he just did it to protect us. Apparently his precautions weren't as thorough as we had thought.' The changeling shot a glare in Vegeta's direction. To his credit, the Saiya-jin prince kept his mouth shut; the expression on his face however, spoke for itself.

'After Papa died, Mom had to raise me herself. She managed to do so much; she looked after me, she assumed the post as head of the Planet Trade and she ruled the Cold Empire in Koruudo's absence. But she just missed Papa so much. She really loved him, just as much as he had loved her.' He sighed. 'Aprii had been a member of Mom's personal guard when Papa was rebuilt as a droid, so after she died, Mom raised Kitara alongside me. She didn't care that Aprii was a Saiya-jin and neither did I. We were at peace for nearly two years, and the Planet Trade started to recover from Papa's death. Then…' His eyes turned downcast as he tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. '…Then Koola returned.'

Goten spoke up, wide-eyed from the prince's account. 'Koola…he was Frieza's older brother, right? Your uncle.'

Reizoku's voice grew as cold as his name. 'I have no uncle.'

Largely oblivious to the delicacies of family life, the implications of the comment passed straight over Goten's head. 'Whaddya mean, you have no uncle? Ok, so Koola's dead, but he's still your uncle!'

This earned him a look from both his father and Vegeta, the meaning behind the words sinking in as fast as the stereo stares from each side.

'He is not, has never been, and will never be, my uncle. Not after what he did.' His voice broke on the last sentence, his pain speaking more than his words could.

'So…what did he do? What happened?' Kuririn regarded him, now with more curiosity than aggression.

The changeling didn't speak. Instead he continued to stare at the ground. Seeing his obvious difficulty, Kitara reached up and tentatively squeezed his hand. A single nod and she took over. The tears in her eyes shone in the sunlight, making all of them apprehensive.

'We were both there when it happened.' Her voice sounded as if it were approaching from a distance. 'Koori, Frieza's mate, she told us to find somewhere to hide. Koola had returned to the homeworld, and he would most likely kill us if he found us. She was going to fight him to give us time to escape. We were so scared… We knew even then that she wouldn't last long against him, so we decided to hide somewhere in the throneroom, where Koola wouldn't find us, so we could help. When the fight began, it…it was almost equal; both of them were so strong. We though maybe Koori could win, she was so powerful. Then she…she started to weaken…she wouldn't last much longer against Koola. Soon she was on the floor…he was beating the living hell out of here and we couldn't do anything to help her.'

Her eyes squeezed shut in grief and her tears started to fall. 'Koola…laughed through the whole thing…he knew that he could've killed her at any time, but he just wanted her to suffer. Then he stopped. He said he wanted to hurt her even more than she'd hurt him…we didn't know what he meant until he…he…' The tears fell faster. Kitara bit back a sob as she looked up at Reizoku.

'He raped her.'

All of the Z Seishi stared at him in wide-eyed, open-mouthed horror. Even the normally unemotional Piccolo looked revolted. 'He _what_?!'

'I saw what happened. We both did. He raped her, then left her to die of her injuries. He was proud of what he had done.' The changeling prince looked up at the assorted warriors, his eyes unmistakably bloodshot. 'Once he'd left, Kitara and I tried to help Mom, but she ordered us to leave before Koola came back. We had to leave her there, lying on the floor of the throneroom, bleeding to death. We managed to steal two battle-pods from the docking bay, and we've lived as nomads ever since.'

The Saiya-jin warrioress wiped her eyes and took over again. 'None of the Trade worlds accepted our arrival. If they didn't recognise me, they always recognised Rei. The son of Lord Frieza and the daughter of Prince Vegeta…our reputations and those of our fathers always proceeded us. The last world we visited, Ionia, the natives took one look at us and attacked.'

'At least it explains why you arrived here so badly hurt.' Goku kept a protective eye on her as she stretched her scarred arms. Kitara nodded by way of response. She didn't trust her voice at that point; being completely in awe of the legendary Super Saiya-jin, she had a notion that anything she said would come out as an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak.

'Ionia…' Vegeta frowned. 'The Planet Trade never had any difficulties with the Ionia-jin. They're meant to be relatively peaceful- their government was always ready to aid Frieza and the rest of the guard.'

'Only because they were terrified of Papa's strength. When they found out the Trade had disintegrated and Papa was dead, they saw no reason to act as hosts towards me or Kitara. And believe me, they remembered _you_, Vegeta.'

'They had heard that while on Namek-sei, a Saiya-jin had defeated Frieza, then while on a planet in the outer Northern Rim, he had been completely destroyed along with Koruudo. If the Saiya-jin had become that powerful, then the few remaining members of our race needed to be exterminated. Including me.' The young Saiya-jin was wearing a smirk identical to her fathers. 'We'd landed to repair the ships and recuperate from our previous battles. Fighting for our lives two minutes after we'd landed wasn't high on our list of things to do. Once they worked out we didn't want to fight, they beat the crap out of us instead. We managed to escape, but we didn't know where to go. Then I remembered about Chikyuu. The last few Saiya-jin were living there in peace. We set ourselves in suspended animation and travelled here. I think you know the rest.'

'Wow.' Trunks stared at Kitara in growing admiration. Pureblood Saiya-jin were among the rarest things in the universe. To finally meet another besides Goku and his father, and his older half-sister at that…He felt an unmistakable rush of pride for her. She was his older sister…

Vegeta merely smirked. 'If the Ionia-jin gave you that much trouble, you're obviously not training enough. And the son of Frieza should possess far more power than you do.'

'I think you're the one who's not training enough. If you can't sense that I'm masking my ki, then it's incredible you survived this long.'

Piccolo raised a green eyebrow in the changeling's direction, thereby averting another argument. 'Then logically, you are also able to sense ki.'

Still unsure of how to act around Piccolo, Reizoku merely nodded. 'Kitara taught me how to mask and sense ki when I was about five.'

'Five? Fairly young to learn a technique like that.'

'Kitara and I started training with Mom when we were both three. She wanted us both to become more powerful than our fathers.'

'Three…Your current age being?'

'I was born about six months before Namek was destroyed, so by your standards, I'm nineteen. Kitara's eighteen.'

The Namek looked mildly surprised. 'Then even for teenage fighters, you should possess a great amount of hidden power.'

Kitara smirked. 'You saying just because we're teenagers we can't fight as well as adults?'

Thankfully Goku managed to rescue the situation. Standing up, he studied the two warriors and nodded slightly. 'Both of you are incredibly powerful, there's no doubt about that. But by our standards, you're still amateurs. What I mean is,' He countered quickly after a glance at their faces, 'There's no way either of you would last against a Super Saiya-jin for more than a minute.'

'Back up, back up, back up…_A_ Super Saiya-jin? There's more than one?' A small crease appeared between Kitara's brows as they knitted together in confusion.

The Super Saiya-jin of Chikyuu nodded. 'Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Vegeta all turned Super Saiya-jin a long time ago. With the number of battles you've been in, there's no reason why you couldn't turn Super Saiya-jin yourself.'

Her eyes widened almost comically. 'Dad? Dad's a…a Super Saiya-jin?! She looked over to Vegeta for confirmation. A simple nod, and she turned back to Goku. I…I could be a Super Saiya-jin too? Like you guys?' The excitement in her voice was infectious. It even managed to bring a fang-laden smile to Piccolo's green features. As for Vegeta…it was rare that someone or something could give him any cheer. Seeing the almost childlike excitement of his eldest daughter, hearing the obvious pride and praise for him in her voice, it warmed his battle-scarred heart.

'It takes a lot to become a Super Saiya-jin.' Gohan warned her. 'Dad and I trained for years to reach that level. And Vegeta had a hell of a time reaching it.'

The Saiya-jin prince resisted the urge to snap back with a retort on third class trash Saiya-jin weaklings. Instead he rose with his customary arrogance and studied his daughter. Coming to a decision, he nodded and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.

'We will begin at dawn.' He turned his gaze over to the Son males and Trunks. 'All of you will meet here to commence training. Unless of course, facing a Saiya-jin warrioress will be too much for you?'

'Nah.' Goku rose a few feet into the air, Gohan and Goten following in kind. 'We haven't trained like that for ages. It'll be fun!'

Vegeta settled for rolling his eyes in disgust. His gaze turned positively arctic as it moved to Reizoku. 'And you…'

The changeling stared right back, but held his ground. 'What's your problem now? Am I breathing too loud?'

'I want to know how something like _you_ survived for nearly twenty years without intensive training. You will join us. And be grateful I allow you that privilege. Keep this one thing in mind…' His voice dropped to an unpleasant rasp.

'The only reason I will allow you to attend this training is because my daughter wishes it. In my opinion, you're unfit to breathe the same air as her.' Sneering at the changeling prince, Vegeta turned and stomped back into Capsule Corps. Tenshinhan, Kuririn and Yamucha decided as one to beat a hasty retreat, heading off to the south while the Son males and Piccolo headed off north. Trunks, Kitara and Reizoku were soon the only ones left, staring after Vegeta's retreating figure.

'Is Dad always like that?'

'It's about as tolerant as he gets, given the circumstances.' Trunks sighed and shot a slightly helpless look at Reizoku. 'Good luck tomorrow at any rate.'

'Yeah. Looks like we're all gonna need it.'

TBC


	5. Part 5

**Sins of the Fathers Part 5/?**

It had been a long time since she had slept in a bed, and even longer since she had slept in one uninjured. Vegeta had been insistent that she stayed in the Corps building; he had deemed her space-pod unsuitable for a princess of the Saiya-jin. Demonstrating his ingrained hatred of Reizoku, he had ordered the changeling to sleep outside. Bulma however remained on of the few who could change her husband's mind. After a loud 'discussion', one that had destroyed most of the lounge area, she had pointed out that she had let him stay in the Corps building when he was technically still the enemy. Even the prince of all Saiya-jin couldn't argue with that.

Her room in Capsule Corps was remarkably comfortable. Overlooking the sprawling gardens below, it was simply furnished; the few personal possessions she owned sitting on the small table by her bed. An ornamental dagger belonging to her mother, her military dog tags, and a small, disc-shaped device; Rei had long since given up asking what it was, and after last night, Trunks had gotten the hint pretty fast. Burying further into her blankets, Kitara stretched out in comfort, kicking something at the foot of her bed.

Unfortunately, it was Trunks' stomach. The half-Saiya-jin's instinctive reaction was to last out at something, normally the first thing within punching distance. Which turned out to be Reizoku's tail. The punch wasn't hard enough to hurt, but it did jar the changeling awake.

'What was that for?' His voice was thick with sleep. The three teenagers had stayed awake until the early hours of the morning finding out about each other. Their life histories moved onto abilities, and rapidly to the number of battles they had participated in. At that point, Trunks had listened rather than talked as his sister and Rei told him about their fights. In turn, they had both been amazed as he had recounted the battles with the _jizouningen_ and Cell; the battle with Majin Buu had shocked them both. Eventually, they had fallen asleep; Trunks had curled up at the foot of Kitara's bed, while Reizoku had dozed off on the floor. There were still a few hours before dawn, and all of them were exhausted.

'Didn' do nothin…' Trunks sounded even worse than Rei.

Somewhere under the blankets, a very muffled voice emerged. ''S too early to be up. Go to sleep…'

The two warriors shared a half-exasperated, half-exhausted look, shrugged, and went back to sleep for the last few hours until dawn broke.

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Years of marriage and a long-standing dislike before that had given Bulma enough experience to know that Vegeta would turn sadistic if he was late to commence training, and when applied to his son, daughter and a changeling…The human woman tapped gently on Kitara's door. Her mother's intuition told her that Rei and Trunks would be in there also.

Attempting not to tread on anyone or anything, she crossed the room quietly until she was standing over Kitara's bed, close enough to shake her awake.

'Wass th' matter?' She rolled onto her side and cracked an eye open to see who had woken her. 'Bulma? 'S it dawn already?'

'It's just gone past 6am. Vegeta's already up demanding food; I just came to spare you from his temper. I'll leave you to wake these two up.' She smiled and held something up as Kitara crawled out of the blankets. 'Your armour's fully repaired. You get ready and I'll get breakfast for you.'

'Thanks.' Examining the two piles of Saiya-jin and changeling wreckage, she sighed and headed for the sink.

Reizoku and Trunks both received a beaker of cold water in the face, instantly waking them up. Spitting out a mouthful of water, the changeling glared at Kitara as she hauled him up.

'Just be glad I didn't attack you to get you up, Koruudo Reizoku.'

Trunks shook his hair out and looked over at Rei as his sister crashed into the bathroom. 'I didn't know your name was _Koruudo_ Reizoku…' He sniggered.

'And no-one else better find out, Trunks _Briefs_,' he hissed, staggering to the door.

'You're not a morning person, you know that?'

Reizoku had enough time to make an incredibly crude gesture before he slammed the door.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 

Vegeta had been in a foul mood ever since they had left that morning, most of the anger, the changeling correctly guessed, aimed at him. The rest was aimed at Goku and his son, but it seemed as if his dislike had been longstanding, so he didn't give it much thought.

He bore little resentment of the Legendary Super Saiya-jin. Goku had merely defeated his father, and perhaps it had been for the best. Koori had told him and Kitara of their fathers when they were three years old. Vegeta had possessed a natural arrogance, while Frieza had possessed a phenomenal ego problem. The defeat by a Legendary Super Saiya-jin had reinforced his attitude, but the eventual death of his father…He couldn't honestly say he had missed him. The few memories he had of his grandfather Koruudo were unpleasant to say the least, and Koola…That was a door he didn't want to open again. He bore nothing but pure hatred of the one who had killed his mother.

He followed the rest of the Saiya-jin as they began their descent. The gravity of Chikyuu was amazing; he felt almost weightless. Judging by Kitara's speed, it was obvious she was appreciating the lowered gravitational pull. Landing beside her on the dusty terrain, Reizoku stood before the five Saiya-jin warriors, attempting to contain his nerves.

Goku took the lead. Stepping forward, he nodded at Kitara, and gestured for her to stand before him.

'Training to reach the level of Super Saiya-jin will require a great deal of effort and sacrifice on your behalf. It won't be easy or enjoyable. You'll get hurt, you'll be exhausted and you will feel like you're killing yourself. But if you can survive that, you will become a Super Saiya-jin. You can become one of the greatest warriors in the universe with our tutelage, but once you choose this path, you cannot turn back. Do you understand this?'

Kitara kept her stance and held her chin up. She knew what the others were asking of her. It frightened her a little, but if her father and brother had done it, then so could she. 'If that is what I have to do, then so be it.'

Goku nodded in satisfaction before turning towards Reizoku and doing the same.

'All warriors have pride. It's what sets us apart from others and shows us who we are. Your father possessed a great deal of pride, but he never possessed humility or deference. It's clear that you possess the qualities that Frieza sorely lacked. If you are to become a great warrior, you must use these qualities wisely. The training will only take you so far. After that, you must follow your own intuition. Understand?'

On the subject of fighting skills and what it meant to be a true warrior, Goku was second to none. It was the respect that Reizoku possessed for the Saiya-jin that made him stand imperceptibly taller as he nodded his assent.

It was rare when Vegeta and Goku worked seamlessly together, but when they did, it was highly impressive. The Saiya-jin prince took over, dropping into a fighting stance as he regarded the two fighters.

'Show me what you can do.' He nodded at his daughter as she crouched, ready to attack.

The speed at which the battle began was impossible to follow with the naked eye. As it was, Vegeta and Kitara were moving at an incredible speed. She delivered a vicious kick to his side, her tail uncurling from her waist for balance. Vegeta blocked, landing a punch to her jaw while holding onto her right foot, still aimed at his side. Flexing backwards, she avoided another blow to her face and used her momentum to flip him into the air. Kicking up from the ground, she launched herself towards him, shoving her fist hard into his gut. He doubled over from the blow and she capitalised, delivering an uppercut straight to his jaw, knocking him backwards and producing a small trickle of blood from his mouth. Wiping the red stain away, he stared at the blood and snarled, his fatherly affection disappearing and his warriors' instinct coming to the fore. Vanishing in a blur of speed, he reappeared fast enough to drive an elbow into her gut, causing her to bend double with the effects of the blow.

The others watched as the spar rapidly turned into a furious exchange of punches and kicks almost too fast to follow. Reizoku observed the battle with no small amount of satisfaction. The two of them were still holding back, that much he could sense. But they had yet to use ki attack, and he had a feeling that Vegeta would be getting a shock when they did.

Deflecting a blow to his leg, Vegeta dropped altitude and glared at Kitara. It was taking a lot of will power not to transform, and it was steadily becoming obvious that she was holding back the bulk of her strength. 'Why aren't you fighting properly, cutting your power loose? You're better than this; you 're _my_ daughter!'

'Because I don't want to hurt you, and I need my strength for my attacks.' Kitara delivered a one-two punch to his shoulder and smirked at him.

'Then show me what you're capable of.'

'You asked for this…' Dropping to barely a few feet above ground level, she brought her hands to her side and began to power up. Her aura glowed white-blue as her fists cupped together and formed a ball of yellow ki. Goku raised his eyebrows in appreciation. It had been a while since he had seen this…

Vegeta's eyes grew progressively wider as he recognised the attack. /Little thief…/ But even as he thought it, the pride in his blood sang.

'A little present for you Dad…GYARIKKU-HO!!' The energy surged from her hands, barely missing the air-borne Saiya-jin before disappearing into the atmosphere and dissolving in the vacuum of space.

'Impressive. But try to mimic this…' The Saiya-jin prince clenched his fists as he powered up, his aura flaring gold. His eyes gleamed as he brought his fists in front of him, releasing the wave of ki.

'FINAL FLASH ATTACK!!' Kitara rose into the air, the ki wave following her every movement. Zipping around in the air currents for a few moments, she grew quickly bored and span round, throwing a gigantic blast at the wave before dropping out of its path. The attack exploded as it hit one of the giant outcrops, the light from the explosion temporarily blinding everyone.

The light cleared after a few seconds, but Kitara was nowhere to be seen. The surge behind him told Vegeta that his attack had been successful in provoking her. Whipping round, he grabbed her wrists before she could attack again. 'What else besides my own attacks? And you're still holding back!'

The Saiya-jin prince was unaware of the ki balls glowing in Kitara's fists, but he couldn't ignore the eerie glow in her eyes. They were becoming unfocused, and the colour was starting to drain from the pupils. Soon the pupils and irises were completely white. He let go of her fists and stared at her with concern.

'Are you sure you want to see this?' The look on her father's face gave its own assent.

She smirked and her ki flared blue, radiating from her body in waves. The sky began to darken, even though it was the middle of the morning. The Son males and Trunks stared at the spectacle, then turned to Reizoku, who was floating a few feet of the ground in anticipation.

'Unless you want to be destroyed by the tremors, it'd be wise for you to get off the ground.'

Goten's shout was partially obscured by the roar of the wind, but the others clearly sensed the build-up of energy beneath them. 'What the hell's she doing!?'

'Her ultimate attack. It won't kill Vegeta, but even he can't survive without air.'

The tremors grew and reached a crescendo loud enough to hurt the ears. The ground started to cave in, and water rose in jets from the craters. They stared in amazement, Reizoku with some concern. The attack shouldn't take this short a time to form…

Kitara's entire body was surrounded with a deep blue aura, her eyes still white and unfocused. She screamed and the entire area whited out, the roar of water deafening everyone. As the explosion cleared and the observants lowered their arms from their faces, they looked towards the female and gawked.

A dragon had appeared in front of Kitara, the water from the ground twisting and curling into the apparition's body. Vegeta floated before it, staring in undisguised amazement. Its form reminded him of the Namekian dragon, Porunga… Through its translucent body, he barely registered the smirk on Kitara's face before she raised her fist, and the dragon appeared to crouch, ready to attack.

'Umiyo-Ken.'

She tore through the water dragon's body, her fist landing straight in Vegeta's stomach, cracking the armour with the impact. He reeled from the blow, coughing blood. The roar of water took his attention away from the punch as the dragon enveloped him in a tide of water. It swirled around him, filling his lungs. Using his ki, he propelled himself towards the edge of the mass.

CRACK

His head impacted heavily against the edge of the water mass. She had erected a shield around the water, preventing him escaping into the air. The fluid buffeted him hard. The force rivalled only the punches he had received from Kakarott…

She watched in concern as her father started to lose consciousness, dropping the shield as she saw him float helplessly in the centre of the mass. The water evaporated into the air with a gesture; Vegeta dropped like a stone to the ground.

The landing jolted the Saiya-jin prince awake fairly abruptly, though he wasn't immediately able to stand up. He stared at his daughter in amazement. Kitara had landed by his side and was checking his pulse for any sign of damage to his lungs. 'What…what the hell was that…thing? That dragon…?'

'The Umiyo-Ken. My ultimate attack. It wasn't at full power, but I guess I overdid it a bit, huh?' She blushed apologetically.

'If that wasn't at full…How much power did you put into it then?' Goten stared worriedly at her.

'About a third of my maximum.' Vegeta stared at her a few seconds before passing out again.

His last thought was distinctly unprintable.

TBC


	6. Part 6

Thank you all peeps that gave me nice feedback!!! I luv you all!!!!

**Sins of the Fathers Part 6/?**

*…* denotes flashbacks

The wind dropped as the standoff between the two warriors continued. Neither of them gave an inch. They stared at each other, judging how best to attack and defend once the inevitable happened.

The taller of the two crouched into a defensive posture. Clad in a blue and orange gi, his unkempt jet coloured hair whipped back from his face as he charged. The younger fighter's appearance, he knew, was deceiving. Slender, almost feminine in build, white and cobalt blue armour covering its entire body, it began its attack, fist raised in anticipation of the impending violence.

Light flooded the area, bathing the observants with its purity. As the dust from the explosion settled, the two combatants exchanged a flurry of kicks and blows so fast as to be rendered invisible to the naked eye. Landing solidly on the hard terrain, the Super Saiya-jin of Chikyuu began to charge a kamehameha wave, the concentrated ki flaring blue in his cupped fists. The attack flew towards the changeling; too slow by far to fit something so fast.

Perhaps there was something to be said for the changelings. Formidable, proud, arrogant…The memory of Vegeta lying helplessly on the ground beside him, a bloody hole burning through his heart, tears unrestrainedly falling from his eyes, his voice rasping in agony and grief…It hurt. A lot. The Saiya-jin prince had been someone he had honestly respected, trusted to a certain extent, maybe even have called a friend…

He wondered if Reizoku had ever truly known that his father was a genocidal maniac. Known before he could speak that he was the offspring of a being that had slaughtered billions without a shred of guilt. Known before he was able to take his first steps that his sire had nothing that was considered humane or compassionate in his soul…

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* The emotions swirled around his head in a maelstrom of confusion. Ever since the…incident with the Saiya-jin and his sensei, he had mostly given up trying to feel anything. Somehow he was grateful for the two failures of repressed emotion, or rather, he was grateful as to how they had manifested themselves in his life.

He was still uneasy however. The prince of the changelings, the heir to the Koruudo Empire should never feel these emotions. His father would taunt him for being so sentimental, and Koola…the less said of his older brother the better. Then again, they couldn't mock him for experiencing something they had never had the sheer good fortune to know.

Still, this wasn't what he had expected. He had been a killer from as far back as he could remember. The destroyer of races, of planets, of star systems…even the killer of Koruudo Tundra. He was meant to take life, not create it.

In the shadow of the seventy-ninth world bearing his name, Frieza kept a close eye on the slim form curled in his bed. Unsurprisingly considering the events of the past few hours, Koori was in a deep state of slumber. He didn't blame her for being exhausted. A changeling labour wasn't one of the most pain-free experiences in the universe; he was merely relieved she had given birth safely. And the product of their union was lying peacefully in a small crib next to his mate's bedside.

Knowing he would not be seen, the changeling allowed himself to smile slightly at the sight of his beautiful mate. Koola had been interested in her for a considerable time; quite laughable really, when he later found out she had never seen him as anything more than an annoyance. That it was his younger brother whom she really cared for…He hadn't been looking for a life partner at the time, but she had a certain…hold over him. A hold that had never changed ever since they had first met. It had only grown stronger over the years they had been enjoined, culminating in the creation of the tiny lifeform lying next to her.

He abandoned his position by the viewing window and levitated across the room until he was standing over his son's crib. Although just a few hours old, Koruudo Reizoku was still awake, his strange new world currently more important to him than sleep. His dark blue eyes gazed up curiously at his surroundings, focusing on the strange horned being staring down at him.

The innocent gaze of his son bore straight into Frieza's brain, oddly disturbing him. A strange instinct compelled him onwards. Reaching into the tiny bed, he hesitantly lifted the bundle of blankets into his arms as he had seen Koori do barely an hour ago. After a few seconds, the uneasiness passed and a strange reassurance overtook it. It felt like second nature to hold this little life close to him. Leaning against the wall, staring out at the starscape before him, he kept his eyes on his son, scrutinising him closely. Reizoku bore an amazing resemblance to his sire in his final form, his features a mirror of his own. His crests and his eyes though were those of his mother, cobalt and midnight blue. His tail lay curled beside him; the end of it clutched in his tiny white fist.

His duty now lay with this little one. The energy and life he had once devoted to the Planet Trade would now forever remain with this child and his mother.

/You have no conception of what you can command of me, young one./ The changeling watched as his son buried closer to the warmth of his father's body before closing his tiny eyes, his tail falling out of his newborn grasp. /I promise you now, any desire you have will be instantly fulfilled. The most trivial of problems; I will solve them. You will never know fear, pain or suffering. You will be the prince of a hundred stars, a thousand worlds. The universe will see your shadow pass over it and worship you as the god you will become.

And until that time, I will protect you through every moment of your existence. No one will harm you for as long as I watch over you./

He placed the child back into the crib, and stood guard over him until dawn.

/No one will ever harm you…my son./*

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 

No movement could be sensed from inside the crater, but Goku knew from experience that the changeling prince would emerge soon, with more than a few new bruises to add to his considerable collection. He hadn't remained untouched however; Rei was as good a fighter as Frieza had been, but unlike his father, he refused to let his pride or personal feelings get in the way of battle. As such, the Super Saiya-jin possessed several painful scratches over his forearms, he was fairly certain he'd broken a few ribs and knew that at least two of his teeth were loose.

A howl echoed from inside the earth as several geysers burst through the dusty terrain, followed by one battered and bloodied changeling. Floating a few metres away from his opponent, Reizoku stretched his arms, hearing the bones pop inside their joints. This was what his father had fought against; this was how he had battled against Goku back on Namek so many years ago. Even without either of them powering up, it was one hell of a fight. But he wanted more than this. He wanted to see the Super Saiya-jin transformation himself, with his own eyes. And the only way to do this was through his ultimate attack.

The Saiya-jin kept a watchful eye on his opponent as he hunched his shoulders slightly, raising his ki for something…The ivory figure was surrounded in a pure white aura, a few shades lighter than his own skin tone. Raising his arms above his head, Reizoku started to spin his entire body around in a close circle, his form blurring until it became a mere impression of ivory and cobalt flashes. A cold, almost arctic wind was emanating from the changeling's spinning form.

An explosion to the left caught Goku off-guard. The blast clearly hadn't originated from any of the others, and he knew it wasn't one of his own attacks, which left…

Something heavy and exceedingly cold impacted on his chest, followed immediately by another on his right arm. The pain was excruciating; it felt like a thousand freezing knives were being stabbed into his body, immobilising his joints and dulling his reactions. He was vaguely aware he was wheezing, his lungs working overtime to force air back into his body.

The sensation kick-started his brain, thoughts racing to find a solution to cure the freezing agony; and only one option was remotely feasible. It wasn't the best time for the transformation, but the warm-up for this battle had long since ended.

Time to let the son of Frieza learn what it meant to fight a real Super Saiya-jin.

He was frankly impressed. Not many could follow the speed of the Aisusu-Kaze [1], much less survive the impact of the ice blasts. Reizoku managed to repress a smile as he felt Goku's ki race. Success in that respect at least. The urge left him as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open in shock. Goku looked like he was on fire, a golden aura surrounding him, melting the ice that had frozen over his body. A small updraft, probably ki-induced, whipped his hair into upright spikes. An unearthly scream echoed around the mountains as the Saiya-jin's eyes coloured a deep turquoise green, his hair colour changing from obsidian to pure blond at the same time.

'Is this what you wanted?' He smirked slightly at the changeling's expression.

He stared at the Saiya-jin in complete amazement. /Is this how Papa felt, after he saw the transformation himself? Did he realise then that killing Kuririn was how he'd meet his demise? Yes…this is what I want. I want to see the one who defeated my father./

The two figures vanished in twin blurs of speed. The battle commenced.

Gohan, Goten and Trunks watched the duel with great interest. Reizoku was powerful; there was no doubt of that. But against Goku's power…he wouldn't last much longer, even if he was more powerful than Frieza. Vegeta kept an intrigued eye on the proceedings, occasionally coughing a few drops of water from his lungs and glaring at his daughter. Kitara however, was watching the battle in open-mouthed amazement, the power of her Umiyo-Ken [2] temporarily forgotten. The Super Saiya-jin transformation really was as amazing as she had heard.

'_All_ of you can…?'

Trunks glanced back at her. 'Yeah, it's pretty easy once you know how.'

'And Dad's a…?'

'Why wouldn't he be?'

The Saiya-jin female folded her arms and deliberately stared at her father. 'Pardon me for being sceptical, but ever heard the phrase 'Legendary'? It generally means there's only one.'

Only Vegeta's sheer love for his daughter prevented him from beating her into a bloody pulp for her disrespect. He kept his irritation restrained to a glare that could have burned holes in Kitara's flesh. 'Kakarott is the Legendary in that respect; he was the first one of us to ascend. I followed shortly afterwards, then Gohan, then the brats.'

An explosion roared from a nearby rock formation, attracting everyone's attention. Due to the changeling-shaped hole in the rock, Reizoku had clearly been on the wrong end of a punch thrown by Goku. The Saiya-jin floated over the impact crater, waiting for his opponent to re-emerge.

The familiar, slightly apologetic grin crossed Goku's face as he dropped to the ground and peered into the crater. 'Sorry about that. You ready to try again?'

A slightly distant yell could be heard from inside the collapsed rock. This cry however, wasn't one of rage. It was one of acknowledged defeat. 'No thanks…I think I broke something…' A few rocks shifted as Reizoku crawled out, covered in blood and scars, dragging his left leg uselessly behind him. Goku glanced at the injury and felt his stomach churn slightly. A compound fracture, the bone clearly visible even through the violet-coloured blood and black dirt. He was impressed that the changeling hadn't passed out from the shock. However…

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Keeping above the cloud level, Goten and Trunks flew alongside Reizoku as they followed Goku, Gohan and Vegeta back to Capsule Corps. Kitara was flying next to her father and Goku, apparently trying to worm more information about the transformation out of the two warriors.

'What _was_ that thing your dad gave to me anyway?' The changeling stared at his hands and glanced back at his leg. Not even a scar remained from the fracture, and the rest of his injuries had healed completely. He felt stronger than he had been for weeks.

'A sensu bean. Dad keeps them around when we're training.'

/Wow. Forget the weird dragon-sphere things Papa was looking for, these are much more impressive./ 'These sensu beans…they can heal all wounds?'

Trunks nodded. 'Even mortal injuries. They restore strength as well.'

'And in the case of the Saiya-jin…' Reizoku looked towards the older fighters. 'No wonder you're so powerful.' He kept his gaze on the female in front, who from her actions was busy pleading for extra training from the three Super Saiya-jin.

'I guess Kitara's got a lot to catch up on.'

TBC

[1] Aisusu-Kaze = Ice Wind. Conducts arctic wind currents and super-freezes water vapour into ki powered ice missiles. Can kill from impact alone or as a result of freezing the lungs and blood supply. Strength depends on amount of water vapour in the air. (1% of Earth's air is made up of water vapour.)

Since I forgot this in the last part: Kitara's ultimate attack.

[2] Umiyo-Ken = Fist of the Ocean. Draws on the power of a planet's seas or oceans, forming into a dragon-like apparition as a form of distraction while the user powers up a fist of ki. After the attack is launched, the water dragon surrounds the opponent holding him/her inside with a ki shield. Strength depends on user, and the planet's surface coverage by water. (Earth's surface is 60% covered by the oceans.)


	7. Part 7

I get all red and bashful from acknowledging nice stuff about my work, so I'll make this short and sweet…THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!! And back to the main feature!!!…  
  
Disclaimer: Keep forgetting this *slaps hand* Bad Melora!! Don't own DBZ, wish I did, not gonna happen, don't want to get sued…I just own anything Toriyama-sensei doesn't!!  
  
  
  
Sins of the Fathers Part 7/?  
  
  
  
'The transformation to Super Saiya-jin depends on several things, none of which are easy to achieve.' The last three pureblood Saiya-jin warriors were sitting in the gravitation chamber in the main grounds of Capsule Corps. The chamber inside the main building had been out of use ever since the last time it had exploded, almost taking its sole user with it. Currently the gravity was at 50 times Earth's natural gravitational pull, an increase of 10G for every week they had spent training Kitara.  
  
Goku counted off on his fingers. 'First, you need to have a pure heart, either of good or evil. Second, you have to have a high level of physical strength. Lastly, you need emotion.'  
  
Kitara frowned slightly as she listened. 'The pure heart deal and strength I understand, but emotion? I thought Saiya-jin weren't supposed to show emotion.' The frown deepened and a flicker of panic came into her eyes as she looked up at Vegeta.  
  
'Emotion is necessary for this. But it requires the strongest of all emotions…rage. Pure, simple rage.'  
  
The legendary Super Saiya-jin nodded in silent agreement. 'Rage is what causes the transformation to occur. Normal rage gives people a strange kind of strength; in the case of the Saiya-jin, it pushes us to a whole new level of power.'  
  
'Wow.' She looked down at the floor, feeling suddenly nervous.  
  
Kneeling beside her, Vegeta squeezed her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. In a way, he was reluctant to let her attempt the transformation. The rage he had felt when he had transformed had nearly killed him, Gohan's second transformation…he had nearly pitied Cell in that respect. Even for a Saiya-jin child the power was unimaginable. Shin and Rou KaioShin had warned them of the risk presented to the boy and the Earth if he ever powered up to his maximum ever again; he had never risked it since. And Kakarott's ascension…  
  
'The rage you have to feel for this transformation…is beyond almost any emotion you have ever experienced…all except grief. The pain of loss is the trigger.'  
  
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x  
  
'How long is this supposed to take, anyway?' Although he preferred to have little or nothing to do with his race's customs or habits, Reizoku still had problems resisting solar bathing. The changelings did not possess any skin pigmentation in their final form, but the heat and the solar radiation rejuvenated their bodies' strength. He was stretched out on his stomach over a flat boulder, trying to regain his strength from a training session with Trunks and Goten. The lavender-haired half Saiya-jin was perched on a tree branch, staring at the gravity chamber with a bored eye while Goten was sprawled flat on his back staring up at the sky.  
  
'It takes different times for different people, I guess. Compared to my dad and Goku, Goten and I learned how to transform pretty fast. Mom said something about the ability being genetic, but I kinda zoned out after a few minutes.'  
  
The changeling sighed and rolled onto his back, wincing at the number of aches the movement produced. 'So this could take any length of time between now and never, is that it?'  
  
Goten frowned at the meaning behind the words. 'D'you think she won't be able to do it?'  
  
He sighed. 'I have no idea. If she had ever shown the kind of abilities you possess, I'd be one of the few to have seen them. But if they're hidden…I just don't want her to get hurt trying to achieve a level of strength that we all thought previously impossible.'  
  
'Give her some time to try. If she's my sister, she'll be able to do it.' Trunks turned his gaze to the white and cobalt form lying on the rocks under the tree. Something clicked inside his head as he stared at Reizoku. 'You care about what happens to her, don't you?'  
  
Inside, the changeling panicked. 'She's my closest friend. Of course I care about her welfare!'  
  
The half Saiya-jin raised an eyebrow. 'Yeah, I know that. But how much do you care about her?' He grabbed the branch above his own and swung down to the ground, landing beside Reizoku's boulder. For once however, he chose his words carefully.  
  
'She's a Saiya-jin warrioress, the last of her kind in the universe, and the daughter of the Prince of the Saiya-jin. She's missed out on having any kind of bond with Dad or her own mother…so…don't you think she should be allowed to discover her birthright? Learn what she can achieve?' He sat down on the grass next to Goten. 'If you really consider yourself to be her closest friend, isn't it only fair you allow her to do this without her feeling guilty about following in Dad's footsteps?'  
  
Thankfully, the changeling was spared from answering due to something fairly small, speedy, and half Saiya-jin landing on his stomach. 'Rei!!'  
  
Apart from Bulma, who had had few dealings with the changelings in her lifetime, Bra was one of the few who hadn't instantly judged Reizoku as being just another changeling killer. She had adored Kitara from the moment she had met her, and since her onesaan had introduced Rei as her best friend, it was more than enough for the young hybrid to form a bond with him. Although he was unused to anyone's unconditional trust bar the obvious, Rei had become attached to the second daughter of Vegeta, looking on her as a little sister much like Kitara did.  
  
The youngest princess of the Saiya-jin giggled as she looked up at her armour-clad companion, her bright blue eyes shining as she held onto his tail and felt herself being lifted a few feet into the air. 'Mama says that she's got lunch ready for all of us, and she says for onesaan and Daddy and uncle Goku to come out of the gravity room before she reprograms it with a really big axe.'  
  
All three teenagers tried and failed to repress the collective sniggers at Bra's choice of wording. 'Did Mom really say that?'  
  
'Yeah.' Bra stared quizzically up at her older brother. 'Why?'  
  
'No reason.' /If she's already threatening Kitara, then she's become one of the family in Mom's eyes./  
  
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x  
  
Bulma sighed outwardly and stared over her once immaculate kitchen. Catering for a full-blood Saiya-jin and two hybrid children was enough to drive anyone towards insanity, but adding to that another full-blood warrioress, plus recently Goku and Goten, plus Reizoku…she was ready to give up and simply commit herself to the nearest rubber room. Saiya-jin appetites were legendary, and Goten and Trunks took after their fathers in that respect. Between them, Kitara and Bra ate enough food in one meal to supply the Chikyuu Ou's entire military in one day, and Reizoku might not have been Saiya-jin, but he was no lightweight in that respect.  
  
She half-heartedly picked up a stack of dishes and transferred them to the dishwasher. The universe's most powerful fighters and they couldn't even clean up after lunch.  
  
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x  
  
*Seven and eight years old, outnumbered by 2,500 Omizuu-jin to one Saiya- jin and one changeling, and both of them badly injured. They had only landed to try to refuel and get some food. What had they done to anger these people? *  
  
  
  
Her aura had flared gold.  
  
  
  
*Fifteen year old Rei lying unconscious next to his travel pod, the wounds across his chest dripping violet blood. His body so cold and pale as to be dead. She had stayed with him all night, curled against him, trying to keep him alive. He didn't deserve this…*  
  
  
  
Her hair was rising with the force of the wind created by the ki surge.  
  
  
  
*Her thirteenth birthday and she was spending it in a cave, huddled next to a dying fire while Rei tried to clean and heal her wounds. She was still so helpless without him…*  
  
  
  
Gold sparks danced round her hunched body, like a badly functioning firecracker.  
  
  
  
*Barely four years old, but she knew what was happening. The screams of violation from Koori and the sick grunts of pleasure from Koola…Rei had turned away from both the horrific scene and her terrified face, but she could tell he was crying. He had never learned how to suppress his power and regress through the forms of his body; a chibi image of Koruudo Frieza was curled next to her, shaking with fear and pure rage. She clutched his hand more firmly in her grasp, and felt him tug at her fuzzy brown tail. The sensation didn't bother her. She had learnt to walk holding onto his tail for balance…*  
  
  
  
Black eyes flashed to green, red-black hair to blond…  
  
  
  
*Ionia-sei. One of the few Trade outposts left. They hadn't taken kindly to the son of Frieza or the daughter of Vegeta; hell, they hadn't taken too kindly to their fathers, but had never had the guts to say it aloud. The two of them could hold their own in a fight, at least until…Ninjen-kai. The kisama gloating over them as they stared at his ultimate form. Only one possible course of action remained. Run and pray to the gods they wouldn't follow…*  
  
  
  
…And she collapsed, the bubble of rage boiling inside of her retreating further and further into her heart. She gasped as she tried to force air back into her body, and nearly gagged as she felt Vegeta pick her up in his arms, barely aware of Goku deactivating the gravitron and opening the external door.  
  
The Prince of all Saiya-jin gazed fondly at his daughter as she managed not to pass out from sheer exhaustion. To have reached that stage after barely a month was impressive, even for her. But she still couldn't access the rage she needed.  
  
She would not be a Super Saiya-jin this day.  
  
  
  
TBC 


	8. Part 8

Took a while to get this part out, (work and school and various evil things including muses) but yay for me!! Thanx for nice reviews!!

Disclaimer: *Muses look relieved. Melora just looks pissed* I don't own DBZ sadly enough, but the stuff not owned by Toriyama-sensei is mine, so no swiping or I will set my Buu and Frieza muses on you. (And they're annoying, believe me.)

(A/N: Daniel of Lorien: I _know_ Brolli is supposed to be the Legendary Super Saiya-jin, but he is only the Legendary in the _movie_ timeline, which does not fit into the anime or manga timeline. Goku was the first Saiya-jin to fulfil the legend in the anime and manga. I live in the UK, which means I haven't seen any of the movies, and I don't like Brolli anyway; so for the sake of the story, Goku is the Legendary Super Saiya-jin.

Keios Thiori: I'm taking the review as a great compliment, so don't be mad at how bad this part is!!)

**Sins of the Fathers Part 8/?**

'You're being too hard on yourself. For only four months at this level of training, you've made incredible progress.' After three further, failed attempts to transform, Kitara had finally landed herself in one of the medical bay's regeneration tanks, floating angrily in a sea of synthetic DNA while Trunks and Reizoku berated her through the internal mike.

'Easy for you to say oniisaan. You've been a Super Saiya-jin for as long as you remember, and Rei doesn't even have a legend to fulfil.'

The changeling feigned a look of hurt as he glared at his friend and rubbed his aching temples. 'I think I'm already fulfilling one of the lesser known changeling legends.'

'Which is?'

'The legend of the changeling who gets so pissed off at his best friend's attempts to become stronger by trying to kill herself that he unfortunately strangles all thoughts of ascension out of her while trying to get some sense into her stubborn, irritating, irrational brain. Ever heard of it?'

Trunks repressed a smirk as he deactivated the regen tank's power system. 'Remind me never to ask you for a character reference.'

'Reminder noted.' The changeling prised the door of the tank open while Trunks found a change of clothes for his sister. Much like Vegeta, she had taken to wearing Saiya-jin armour while training; both for protection and a naïve wish to emulate her father and his training methods. Even he, however, thought she was taking her training too far, and had actually told her to train less intensively. His entire family had been rendered speechless at the sudden change in attitude.

The lavender haired demi Saiya-jin had little time to ruminate on his father's apparent personality swap before he sensed a highly agitated ki signal rapidly approaching them from down the hall. He barely moved out of the way in time before the Prince of the Saiya-jin barged into the medical bay, grabbed Reizoku by the neck and pinned him against the wall.

Kitara's eyes got progressively wider as she watched Vegeta choke the life from her friend. 'What the…Dad, what are you doing!?'

If Vegeta heard the yells, he chose to ignore them. His grip around Reizoku's neck tightened as the changeling struggled to breathe.

'How long have you known!?'

'Known what!?'

'So you made a deal with them that you would escape before they destroyed us…You're as cowardly as your father!! I knew you couldn't be trusted!!'

'What have I done now!?'

'They're coming…and I so wanted to be the first to kill you.' His snarl turned into a sadistic leer.

His vision was starting to blur along with his patience…'Two things Vegeta; one, what's going on? And two, who are 'they'?'

'The Ionia-jin…Kami, you can't even sense them from here…weakling.' He reluctantly let go of the changeling's neck; Reizoku collapsing onto the tiled floor, wheezing and rubbing his neck while Kitara crouched over him anxiously.

Trunks looked at his father with a mixture of confusion and rapid, unwelcome understanding dawning on his features. 'Are you sure it's the Ionia-jin? Couldn't it be something else?'

'The ki is familiar, but far stronger than I remember…' The Saiya-jin prince looked down at his daughter, remembering the extent of her injuries after she had arrived on Earth. Realisation hit him like a Final Flash Attack. 'You could sense them as well, couldn't you brat?'

She stood up and glared at Vegeta. 'I have a very strong denial reflex. You'd understand that, Mr.'I'm-the-strongest-of-my-entire-race-and-still-get-my-butt-kicked-by-Kakarott'.'

He chose not to eviscerate her and settled for snarling in rage instead.

'I knew they'd probably try to find us, but I didn't know they could track us down from this distance. Either they learned how to sense ki, or there's someone else who knew where we are. I guess we'll find out soon enough.'

'So…how long do we have?' Trunks quickly found the outgoing phone extension and started dialling in Goten's number.

Reizoku stared straight ahead, his dark blue eyes glazing over in shock as he sensed the ki signatures. '…They'll make planet fall in two days.'

'And that's a bad thing because…?' Trunks paused long enough to look at Reizoku.

'…We're screwed.'

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

After three hours fruitless efforts, she still couldn't sleep. Time and time again, her thoughts kept coming back to the impending invasion. For her father and brother and the others, this was probably nothing compared to Frieza or the _jizouningen_ or Cell or even Majin Buu. But if a pure blood Saiya-jin warrioress and the prince of the changelings couldn't even harm the weakest of the Ionia-jin Tri…She closed her eyes and tried to sense if anyone was still awake.

One floor below, Vegeta and Bulma were oblivious to the mental probe, their thoughts seemingly untroubled by what would happen tomorrow. Down the hall, Bra was sound asleep, while a loud snore from next door told her Trunks was dead to the world. Rei however…

Like his father before him, Reizoku had three things he couldn't easily cope with. Prejudice against his race, apocalypses, and… /No. I don't need distractions. Not now. Not even that…/ It was the second of these that was causing him to toss and turn sleeplessly in his bed. A raised ki signature, albeit a friendly one, caused him to abandon any attempt at rest. The door hissed open as Kitara crept into his room, wearing a rumpled nightshirt and a look of pure fear on her face. He didn't need to ask why she couldn't sleep. He could feel her antagonised emotions from across the room.

He wordlessly shifted over in the bed so that she could curl up beside him, wrapping his tail around her shivering form as a vague gesture of reassurance. Until the time of change had occurred, they had slept like this for almost eight years. After that they rested apart, curling together purely for warmth, almost never for comfort. No words were needed between them as Kitara burrowed closer to him, resting her head against his chest as she surrendered to her exhaustion.

It took a great deal of restraint on his part not to pull her closer, as he had always done when either of them felt scared or alone. It would only get too complicated. He settled for simply holding her as he started to feel the rush of drowsiness through his body.

It fleetingly occurred to him as he succumbed to sleep himself, that she maybe, just maybe wouldn't have minded if it had become complicated…

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 

An apocalypse would have been preferable to the number of emotions swirling around inside her. Part of the wish was due to her seeking Rei's company in the dead of night, and the rest was due to the emotions swirling against her breakfast, making her feel twice as nauseous.

The fear of death was one reason why she had needed Rei's comfort, but there was something about the way he could assuage her fears. Added to that, it had felt…right, for lack of a better word, to stay with him. He had always pulled her right next to him if they shared body heat; last night, she had wanted him to pull her closer, but not just because of that…and what she hated was that she wasn't even sure why she had wanted it. Whether it was due to her fears or whether it was due to…she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. /Not now./

/Two hours now. Two damn hours of sitting round, _waiting_ for an Ionia-jin invasion fleet to come and slaughter us all./ Goku and Vegeta were keeping a lookout on the skies. Piccolo and Gohan stood off to one side, apparently meditating, while Goten and Trunks were throwing small ki blasts at a nearby rock formation. She remained in the shadows of the overhanging cliff, while Rei was perched on the rocks above, his senses attuned to the kis in orbit over the planet.

All of them felt the surge of raw ki in a heartbeat. Taking observation positions on top of the cliff, they waited in unpleasant anticipation as the prow of the Ionia-jin craft pierced through the bank of clouds.

Like all Ionia-jin ships, this craft didn't look so much built as congealed together, parts cannibalised from other travel craft until it looked like a vaguely spherical mass. Squinting slightly at the battered exterior, Vegeta identified several ship parts as belonging to the Bas-jin, with Sakana-jin markings in various places. The critical systems appeared to be the work of the changelings and Saiya-jin however; he relaxed imperceptibly seeing that none of the sleek Neko-jin craft had been pillaged for this bastardisation of a ship.

The beings inside the ship were what currently concerned him. For a supposedly weak race, their ki signatures were dangerously high. He was beginning to realise that his firstborn hadn't exaggerated about the strength of these people. A sense of deja vu overwhelmed him. 18 years ago, he and the other Seishi had faced an almost identical situation as they had watched Frieza's ship landing on Earth. Only this time, they would fight outright, instead of watching a more powerful fighter do their task for them.

They would land within a minute. Time to greet some unwelcome guests.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Fire raced through Goku's mind as he stared in awe at the Ionia-jin emerging from the craft. These people…they looked like living flames. He might have been able to fight fire, but it was near the top of his 'Things to be avoided unless you really want your otherwise good day to be wrecked' list, just under needles and indigestion.

'How can they do that?' Gohan's question was aimed more towards Kitara and Reizoku than anyone else. Due to the pattern of their movements, the Ionia-jin were unable to sense ki, and hadn't spotted the huddled fighters in the shelter of a convenient cliff face.

Kitara leaned on a small outcrop and studied the small group below. 'They're a race of elemental fighters. Their element is fire, so they can manipulate it as they see fit. But the difficulty with fighting them is that simply trying to counter with the opposite element only drops their defence a little. Otherwise, they're fairly invincible.'

'Fairly invincible means they have a weakness; it just hasn't been exploited yet.' Piccolo gazed out over the ledge with a seemingly bored eye.

'If they have a weakness, we didn't stick around long enough to find out.' The Saiya-jin female looked over towards her father.

Who, conveniently, had disappeared.

'Dad? Where'd he go?'

Trunks looked relatively unfazed. 'Hey, I don't control him.'

'True. His ego does however. Look down there.' Reizoku nodded towards the assembled throng, who had halted their actions as soon as Vegeta had appeared before them. His words were ripped away by the wind, but his gestures were more than enough to punctuate whatever the hell he was saying.

And apparently, whatever he had said constituted a response from the commander. Deciding to make their presence known, the Z-Seishi floated down to stand by the Saiya-jin prince, Gohan and Goku berating him telepathically. The changeling stood slightly to one side, eliciting nervous glances and shocked whispers from the Ionia-jin. Kitara's presence next to him only increased the volume and intensity of the fear in their faces.

'Well.'

Only one word. It sounded like the rumble of an earthquake, but the natural disaster was a lot less dangerous than the one behind the voice.

'To what do we owe the honour of meeting the great Saiya-jin prince Vegeta after all these years?'

Vegeta refused to be intimidated by a nameless voice. It was one of the first lessons his father had taught him as a child. 'Show yourself, unless you are a true coward as I believe you to be?'

A figure slowly moved in the gloom, the ethereal glow of the living flames surrounding its body a beacon in the darkness. The low rumble again. 'Are you sure you _want_ to see me, o prince?'

The glare was answer enough to a fairly idiotic question. The figure moved elegantly into the light as each of the warriors stared at it.

Goku and Goten both wore the same expression of total amazement.

Gohan looked wary, well learnt from his life as a warrior.

Trunks brilliantly demonstrated a look of utter confusion.

Piccolo remained stone-faced as always. Only his eyes belied his surprise.

Reizoku's upper lip was curled back in distaste and recognition.

Kitara's eyes filled with hatred and recognition.

Vegeta simply stared at the figure, as if trying to decide how to react. He went with his gut instinct.

A laugh of pure disbelief echoed around the mountains.

TBC 

Crap I know. But I tried!!!!


	9. Part 9

A/N: No, it ain't an illusion. I finally updated. And I'll discontinue this if I don't get more reviews!!!

Disclaimer: Kitara, Rei and the Ionia-jin are all mine. You take 'em, you die. The rest is the brainchild (Brain_children_? Eeeep.) of Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. One brief warning in this part for colourful language. You don't like, then don't read.

**Sins of the Fathers: Part 9**

Confusion and wariness battled for control over Reizoku's face as he stared at Vegeta. The Saiya-jin prince had never laughed like this in the time they had been acquainted. Judging from Kitara's face, it was obvious she was just as stumped as he was.

'And the reason behind the psycho laugh is?' Trunks raised an eyebrow at his father's sudden display of humour.

'Ya got me.' Goten shrugged. Vegeta acted weird most of the time anyway. But this…this was new.

'You. Changeling.' Even while laughing, the prince of all Saiya-jin could still command utmost authority. 'You were…were scared of this…_baka yoro_!?'

Rei wisely chose not to comment. Vegeta might be completely overconfident about his abilities, but against this…thing…he wouldn't stand a hope in hell if he underestimated the Ionia-jin. 

'You would be wise to be silent, O Saiya-jin prince.' The Ionia-jin warrior hovered a few feet from the rocky surface of the Earth. 'After all…I am the one who nearly killed your dear daughter.'

Now that got a reaction. Vegeta's expression went southwards almost immediately. The Saiya-jin princess recognised the look on her father's face. The expression which went something along the lines of 'Thank-you-so-much-for-not-telling-me-this-earlier-you-idiot-onna.'

She just matched her father's glare with one of her own. 'You never asked.'

Much as I hate to interrupt this little bonding session…' The flame-covered warrior raised a hand. '…I believe it's time to _die_!'

With the training she had been undergoing, Kitara simply leant to one side, the blast passing harmlessly over her head. 'Don't think so…Ninjen-Kai.'

Goku's eyes narrowed instinctively. Kitara had mentioned that name before… 'This is…?'

'The one who nearly killed Rei and me? Got it in one.'

'My reputation has spread this far? I'm flattered, really.' Ninjen-Kai dropped his arm back against his side. 'But don't think for a minute that you or any of your weak Saiya-jin friends can help you now, Kitara Vegeta. You and the brat of Frieza couldn't even provide us with a decent fight. The rest of you wouldn't last two minutes against us.'

'Rei…' Goten poked the changeling in his side. 'How does he know how we are? And how come he knows you and Kitara's family so well?'

'Simple.' Reizoku fought to keep his face expressionless. 'He's the leader of the Ionia-jin. The one who nearly killed us when we landed on Ionia-sei six months ago. Just don't be fooled by the appearance. He's powerful. Like my race, he can transform into a more powerful body at will. Even a Super Saiya-jin would have problems against him.'

The Ionia-jin fighter smirked. 'You and the Saiya-jin whelp are still babbling about that ridiculous legend? As I told you before…there's no such thing as a Super Saiya-jin.'

'You don't believe us? Fight us and find out.'

'Specks like you aren't worth wasting my time over. But I suppose since all of you have a death wish, I'll oblige just this once.'

The blast the flame-covered warrior unleashed would have obliterated a normal man. Being stronger than the average man, the Z Seishi all escaped the blast area before the enemy ki could touch them.

Vegeta stared down at the Ionia-jin commander. Nearly twenty years had passed, but Ninjen-Kai hadn't changed much. Easily as tall as Kakarott, his skin glowed a deep, almost blood red while his eyes shone with white-hot light. Clothed in the armour of the Planet Trade, his hair and back were covered with red and orange flames, and his ki level…

It had skyrocketed. And if what Kitara told him had been true, then when he transformed…

The rest of the troops had gathered around the Seishi in an arc formation, balls of ki-powered flames aimed and ready. The Son males had dropped into fighting stances, while Trunks and Piccolo had removed their heavier outer clothing. Kitara curled into an attack position, while Rei slowly began to increase his power.

Reason (and Vegeta) dictated that none of the Saiya-jin should reveal their hidden talents unless absolutely necessary.

Which, on reflection, turned out to be one very big mistake.

***************************************************************************************************************

Trying desperately to force air into his lungs, Trunks spat out a mouthful of blood and directed his blurring gaze at his older sister. 'You…even lasted two…minutes…against…these guys?'

'We…didn't want…to…fight them…' Goku, Gohan, Goten, his father and he had all transformed a while back. As such, they were relatively unscathed bar a few cuts and bruises. Out of all the Z Seishi, Kitara and Rei were easily the most beaten and bloodied.

The Saiya-jin female had managed both to dislocate her shoulder and pop it back into place after Ninjen-Kai had directed a roundhouse kick at her torso. Gashes from various ki blasts covered her legs and lower arms while a rather unfetching bruise was forming over her left eye. Rei hadn't fared any better. His armour-clad body was mottled with purple, black and blue patches, while the shape of his tail indicated that at least five bones were broken.

Pressing two fingers to his forehead, Piccolo managed to concentrate long enough to form the Makkankosappo. The resulting blast managed to kill two Ionia-jin and earned the third a permanent desk-job before another five appeared to take the place of the slain. 'They just…keep…coming…'

The Son males had created a rough triangular formation, fists cupped by their sides. No prizes for guessing the attack they were planning.

'KA…'

The Ionia-jin closest to the Super Saiya-jin watched in vague apprehension. The Gyrikku Ho attack favoured by Vegeta was the closest thing to this attack that they had heard of.

'…ME…'

The remaining Seishi elected to get airborne. Once the kamehameha was unleashed, it wasn't wise to be anywhere near the receiving end of the attack. Between them, Kitara, Trunks and Rei managed to help each other into the air.

'…HA…'

Even Ninjen-Kai stopped his attack on Vegeta long enough to watch. The ki these Saiya-jin were producing…no pathetic monkey should have that kind of power, even if they were Super Saiya-jin.

'…ME…'

Goku briefly studied the surrounding battlefield. Three blasts against a 500-strong army of walking flames. Should be enough.

'…HAAAAAAA!!!!!!'

Three points of blue-white light exploded into three lethal waves of ki. The remains of the Ionia-jin attack force didn't even have time to scream.

Dropping from his vantage point in the sky, Vegeta glanced over the terrain. This place was no longer a battlefield. It was a massacre.

The few body parts that hadn't been completely vaporised lay in bloody, flame-covered chunks, brownish-yellow fluid staining the rocks and sand. Here and there, a few dying flames were scattered between the blood and debris.

None of the Ionia-jin had survived.

Bar one. And to say he was a little pissed off was like saying Cell had been a little bit malicious.

'You…'

Vegeta wiped the sweat and blood from his face and scowled. It was too much to hope Ninjen-Kai had been killed. While he wasn't exactly staggering in death throes, he would be healing himself any time soon.

'There's more where those pathetic blasts came from.'

On the ground, Goku sighed. Only Vegeta could be that dismissive of a kamehameha. And something didn't feel right about this situation. If Kitara and Rei had nearly been killed when they had faced the Ionia-jin…

'Don't get too sure of yourself, Saiya-jin.' Ninjen-Kai nodded towards the Ionia-jin ship and smirked. The little monkeys would regret their self-confidence once they saw this…

Bracing his body, he screamed and powered up once again. Cuts and bruises healed themselves instantly. The slash on his neck and his fractured leg disappeared as his muscles began to bulge.

The ground began to tremble with the sudden surge of raw ki. Trunks and Goten were hauled away bodily by Kitara and Rei while Gohan, Vegeta, Goku and Piccolo launched themselves into the air.

'He's…transforming…' Kitara's eyes narrowed at the yellow aura of the Ionia-jin warrior.

Trunks tilted his head sideways at the glowing figure and calmly turned to face Rei. 'Ok, on a scale of one to ten…how fucked are we?'

Opting to indulge the demi-Saiya-jin, the changeling glanced at him, then down at the flaming figure. 'To be honest? About eleven.'

Goten's gaze was suddenly drawn to the Ionia-jin ship. Concentrating, he lowered his ki until he could sense what lay inside the deformed metal hulk. 'Ummm, guys? There's something in there…'

Kitara gave the ship a glance and rolled her eyes. 'Great. Just wonderful.'

'What now?' Gohan tried to shield his eyes from the aura.

'He's brought the rest of the Tri with him. Like we're not in enough shit already.'

Goku looked at the slowly mutating figure. Kitara had mentioned that name before. 'The…Tri?'

'The Ionia-jin Tri. Ninjen-Kai and his brothers, Mai-Kai and Jujen-Kai. They're just as strong as Ninjen-Kai, and twice as ruthless.'

'Ruthless against you and the changeling perhaps. But against the Super Saiya-jin, they're less than weak.' Vegeta cracked his knuckles and began to power up, never taking his stare off the Ionia-jin. As one, the rest of the Z Seishi rolled their eyes and looked over at the ship. More specifically, at the beings which had just emerged from the hull.

Reizoku sighed. 'Did I say eleven? Sorry, I meant eleven thousand.'

Jujen-Kai and Mai-Kai, as befitting the evil element, were not what anyone would call good looking. Especially when they had transformed. Next to Ninjen-Kai, their ki levels and looks alone would have sent anyone screaming. Gohan was almost immediately reminded of Frieza's henchman Zarbon after he had transformed. The three brothers however, were ten times more powerful and at least a few dozen times uglier, even without the flames covering their bodies.

'These the ones, 'Jen?' Mai-Kai possessed a disturbingly guttural voice, one that even Goten couldn't ignore.

'And more besides, dear brother. Recognise the shrimp with the flame-shaped hair?'

Jujen-Kai smirked. 'Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya-jin, sire of Kitara. Thought he was dead.'

Vegeta narrowed his eyes in an unpleasant sneer. 'True. I'm dead. I just haven't stopped breathing yet.'

'Smart mouth. It won't save you.'

'Try me.'

'Invitation accepted.'

The battle commenced.

***************************************************************************************************************

Piccolo let out an ear-splitting howl as he regenerated his left arm for the second time that day. 'And this is 'relatively weak'?'

Vegeta flung a few sacrificial ki blasts in Jujen-Kai's direction, trying to ignore the burning feeling through his hand that indicated that at least three fingers were broken. 'They…they never had this kind of power when I first encountered them…'

'Eighteen years of mind-numbing hatred and the need for revenge can do that to some people.' Kitara ducked another attack and tried to keep the bile from crawling up her throat as she looked at her midsection. If she had any skin left, she'd have to personally thank Dende.

Trunks delivered a full roundhouse kick, kicking back a fireball. 'You don't say.'

'Both of you shut up or I'll shut them for you!'

'_Daaaaaaaaaaad_!!!' Apparently whining and truculence were inherited traits of the Saiya-jin royal family.

'The Namek's with me. You two and the changeling take the left and attack full power.' Ignoring the inability of his offspring to obey any of his commands, Vegeta soared into the sky, Piccolo charging a Masenko blast as he flew. Trunks, Rei and Kitara split into a three-pronged attack, the demi-Saiya-jin launching a Burning Attack while the changeling tried to hit the back of Jujen-Kai's neck with a well placed Eye Laser. Kitara had formed a shield around her brother and friend while they tried not to get hit with the recoil.

The distraction worked. The Ionia-jin male span round to find the cause of his temporary pain and found himself on the receiving end of a full-power Masenko and Final Flash Attack.

Now that had to sting.

The Son males looked up at the sound of the explosion. Mai-Kai was barely conscious after the beating he had received. Ninjen-Kai was watching the battle from an aerial position, teeth clenched in rage.

'Clever little Saiya-jin. I applaud you all for making it this far. But it won't help you now. Not after I destroy the root of this battle.' One hand was raised at the assorted group below.

'You certainly fought bravely, and I am truly impressed. But now I think it's time.

'Time to say goodnight…_Prince Vegeta_!!!!!!!'

The crusher ball was an attack not even Vegeta could ignore.

Or properly defend himself against.

/It…can't…end like this…/

The light slowly faded as the Z Seishi pulled the arms away from their faces. That attack…not even Vegeta could have avoided that at close range.

But…that would have to mean…

No…

'What…what the hell just happened Kakarott?'

Wait…

Kakarott!?

Goku let his hands fall from his face as he scanned the ground for his temperamental sparring partner. 'Vegeta…you ok? How'd you survive that? What happened?'

Goten's eyes widened. 'He didn't. But maybe we should ask Rei.'

The Super Saiya-jin of Earth frowned as he looked around for any sign of the changeling. Rei? But…

No.

No way.

'Now…that…_hurt_.' The changeling prince swallowed a mouthful of blood and bile as he took in the site of his mangled right leg and tail. If they still moved it would be a miracle. But then again…once he'd recovered from this, Vegeta would kill him.

The Saiya-jin prince wasn't one to appreciate help.

Especially from a changeling who had just conveniently saved his life.

'What in the name of Dende did you just do!?' Kitara swooped down and helped the battered fighter to land.

'Just…saved your dad's life. You…think I…get a merit badge for this?'

'Even under Ionia-jin style torture, that legendary wit never fails.'

Rei smirked and winced in agony. 'Time for you…to go be the heroine of the hour…'

'Rei!!' She instinctively panicked as his legs collapsed under him. The only bonus was, at least he'd earned a respite.

'Kitara…' Gohan helped her drag the changeling's comatose body to safety and straightened up. During the last battle, a thought had occurred to him. After seeing the Tri in action, it had formed into a possible plan. 'The Umiyo-Ken.'

'Forget it, Gohan. It won't have any effect against these guys.'

'Just listen. The Ionia-jin are humanoid, right?'

'Yeah…And?'

'They're susceptible to ki attacks, like all creatures.'

'Again, yes.'

'Ki can be manipulated as a kind of electrical power…'

The Saiya-jin princess's confused look slowly grew into a fairly Vegeta-like smirk of understanding. 'And electricity is conducted by water. Beautiful. Tell the others.'

'Don't need to. That's the gift of telepathy. They're ready when you are.'

'My advice now? Stand back.'

Sparks of ki shot through the air as Kitara began to condense the remains of her power into summoning her ultimate attack. The Z Seishi rocketed into the air as the first tremors began to tear at the Earth. Geysers of water shot through the various trenches created through the last battles as the sky darkened. The Saiya-jin's eyes began to whiten out in the biological equivalent of the sonic boom.

The shudders of the ground shifted the battered changeling to consciousness. Knowing what was about to come, he used the laughable remains of his ki to propel himself into the air. This was Kitara's battle now. If she didn't finish this…

She had missed seeing the Dragon of water, even if it was only called on as a tool of mass slaughter. But now, it would get the battle of its existence to enjoy.

'Umiyo-Ken.'

The punch cracked down hard on Jujen-Kai's neck, immobilising him instantly. Mai-Kai, in all his vanity, ignored the oncoming assault as he made to help his fallen brother. Ninjen-Kai was the only one to notice the dragon, but paid it no mind. Just a pathetic water trick was all it was.

The dragon swirled around them, forming an impenetrable barrier of water and psychic power.

'FINAL…'

'KA…'

'MANSEN…'

'KA…'

'MAKKANKO…'

'KA…'

'AISUSU…'

The last one was a bit of a surprise. Goten and Trunks shared a grin. Rei really was something else if he still wanted to fight.

Kitara held the three slightly apprehensive warriors inside the watery sphere and nodded.

'Now!!!'

'…FINAL FLASH ATTACK!!'

'…KAMEHAMEHAAAA!!!'

'…MASENKOAAAAHHHH!!!'

'…KAMEHAMEHAAA!!!'

'…MAKKANKOSAPPO!!!'

'…KAMEHAMEHA!!!'

'…AISUSU KAZE!!!'

Seven of the universe's most deadly warriors.

Five deadly attacks.

Three battle-weary Ionia-jin warriors.

They didn't stand a chance as the beams hit the water.

'Mai-Kai?'

Goku pressed a weary hand to the giant's neck. 'Dead.'

'Jujen-Kai?'

Again, the search for life. 'Dead.'

'Ninjen-Kai?'

The Saiya-jin's fingers felt a slight warmth. No. There was no way…

'…You…'

It wasn't a threat. The bleeding, mutilated, warrior let his head roll to the side to look at Kitara, trying to hold Rei up with Trunks and Goten's help.

'…Proud…are…you…girl…?'

'I…should…be. Beat you…didn't I?'

'Heh…you…killed me…but…' The Ionia-jin leader forced his last words out with a disgusting finality before his spirit transcended to hell.

'You're too…late…She…is coming. And you…will…perish.'

***************************************************************************************************************

TBC in next saga.


End file.
